Axios Sneak Peek: Two scoops: Swan on Biden sales pitch ... Hans on new crypto player

Plus: Operatives eye GOP grassroots fundraising overhaul | Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By McDonald's   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Kadia Goba ·Mar 09, 2021 Welcome back to Sneak. Tomorrow's expected House approval of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill will trigger a massive ripple effect in the U.S. — and beyond. ⚡ Situational Awareness: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will lead a Republican delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, Axios' Kadia Goba and Alayna Treene scooped. 🎧 Worthy of your time: Dan Primack spoke with L.A. Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner for Axios Re:Cap, as the podcast focuses all week on decision-making linked to last spring's coronavirus shutdown. Listen here. Today's newsletter — edited by Glen Johnson — is 598 words, a 2-minute read.     1 big thing: Biden's outside game to sell COVID-19 law Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images   President Biden's inner circle has spent a ton of time thinking about how to sell his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan around the country — long after he signs it into law this week, Axios' Jonathan Swan reports. Why it matters: Total opposition from elected Republicans in Washington renders public popularity and bipartisanship across the country vital to maintaining support for the president's agenda. The details: Team Biden is planning a large and long-running sales campaign, including local media outreach and the cultivation of coalition media campaigns. Cabinet officials will join White House aides in publicly selling the impact of the package — on schools, vaccine distribution and the food supply for poor families, a senior administration official told Axios. Cedric Richmond, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, is tasked with mobilizing the myriad outside groups that make up the Democratic coalition. Their job will be to ensure communities connect the help they're receiving to the federal government. A White House official familiar with the planning said they'll be leveraging the groups and leaders who have endorsed the package, "including over 400 bipartisan mayors and governors, organized labor and the business community, as well as economists and experts from across the political spectrum." Go deeper.     2. COVID-19 decimated state tax collections Data: Urban Institute; Chart: Axios Visuals The 10 states that saw tax collections dive the most because of the COVID-19 pandemic saw revenue fall from 5.6% to over 40% from 2019 to 2020, according to a data analysis by the Urban Institute reviewed by Axios' Stef Kight. Why it matters: Given the shortfall, those states are the most likely to benefit from the $350 billion in state and municipal aid included in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus package. The Senate approved it Saturday without a single Republican vote. Six of the 10 states with the largest revenue drops have two Republican senators. Montana has one senator from each party. The data includes income and sales tax revenues. Sales taxes were particularly impacted by pandemic-related business shutdowns and unemployment, which reduced consumer spending.     3. Scoop: Jim Messina aims to shape cryptocurrency future Jim Messina. Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images   Former Obama aide Jim Messina is joining the board of Blockchain.com in anticipation of enhanced regulation from the Biden administration and other governments for its business trading and processing digital coins, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: Cryptocurrency companies are currently operating in a regulatory no man's land. Some firms are looking for more government guidelines while others prefer to have as few rules as possible — and operate offshore, if need be. By bringing on Messina, Blockchain.com, a London-based cryptocurrency firm that says it does roughly 30% of all bitcoin transactions, is trying to become a key player in the onshore market. It also wants a say in helping develop standards and rules. "Crypto has been the Wild West, and now it's time for some regulation," Messina told Axios. He served as Obama's 2012 campaign manager and deputy White House chief of staff. Go deeper.     A message from McDonald's How McDonald is approaching safety and protection     McDonald's restaurants have implemented safety procedures that protect employees like mandatory mask coverings for employees and customers. "It makes me feel safe." – Pilar Cortez, McDonald's Crew Member. Learn how McDonald protects employees and customers.     4. Operatives eye GOP grassroots fundraising overhaul Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Digital operatives are in preliminary discussions about an attempt to overhaul the Republican Party's small-dollar fundraising apparatus, multiple officials with knowledge of the discussions tell Axios' Lachlan Markay. Why it matters: Democrats crushed the opposition in 2020 when it came to fundraising. Now, top GOP operatives are trying to craft a strategy and technology infrastructure that will get them closer to parity. What's happening: Half a dozen Republican digital operatives, all of whom work or have worked in senior roles in the party, told Axios they're aware of or involved in efforts to create a centralized, party-wide apparatus to find and tap wells of grassroots financial support. The goal, they say, is to take an industry that's highly fractured among candidates and their fundraising vendors, give it the party's official imprimatur, use scale to bring down costs and make fundraising operations more transparent and accountable. All of those who spoke with Axios about the project did so on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize existing business arrangements. Go deeper.     5. Biden touts his $1.9T fixer-upper Photo: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images   Biden spoke to workers today as he visited a Washington, D.C., hardware store to promote his COVID-19 relief package.     A message from McDonald's How McDonald is approaching safety and protection     McDonald's restaurants have implemented safety procedures that protect employees like mandatory mask coverings for employees and customers. "It makes me feel safe." – Pilar Cortez, McDonald's Crew Member. Learn how McDonald protects employees and customers.   🎉 Thanks for reading. 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