| | | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Get rid of the filibuster, or allow Republicans to disenfranchise millions of Black and brown voters who put President JOE BIDEN in office. Senate Democrats may or may not agree with such a blunt framing of voting rights legislation coming down the pike — but it's the reality they face, because that's precisely how the party's progressive base is framing it for them. "We're headed for a showdown between the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the filibuster — a relic of Jim Crow," Rep. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-Texas) said in a statement to our Laura Barrón-López. You might've heard the stats already: More than 250 bills that would restrict voting are under consideration in statehouses all over the country. Many of them are a direct response to DONALD TRUMP'S "big lie" that rampant voting fraud cost him reelection. Liberal activists point to H.R. 1, which passed the House already, and H.R. 4 as the only legislative remedies to counteract what they call a state-level assault on voting rights. Both bills will be in the hands of the Senate at some point this year, and both are DOA as long as the filibuster applies to them. Progressives are dialing up pressure on Democratic senators to set aside the filibuster for voting rights legislation. This wouldn't be the first time senators made an exception. Democrats did it in 2013 to break a Republican blockade of then-President BARACK OBAMA'S Cabinet nominees. Republicans followed suit in 2017 for Supreme Court nominees. And now, voting rights advocates are demanding another carve-out. House Majority Whip JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) put it like this recently: "I'm not going to say that you must get rid of the filibuster [entirely]. I would say you would do well to develop a Manchin-Sinema rule on getting around the filibuster as it relates to race and civil rights." The sense of urgency on the left is increasing as state-level voting bills advance. Between gerrymandered House districts and voting rules they see as blatantly designed to suppress turnout among Black and brown voters, Republicans could be on their way to cementing power for a decade or longer, they say, despite demographic trends moving in Democrats' favor. "Let's be clear-eyed with stakes: If President Biden and Congress fail to safeguard our elections now, I fear for the future of our democracy," Castro said. "MITCH MCCONNELL already partially eliminated the filibuster to install a right-wing Supreme Court, so he will not hesitate to completely remove that rule when back in power and the consequences would be severe." (McConnell, to be fair, has said the opposite and resisted pressure to do this as leader.) The spotlight is squarely on Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, who not only has the Senate to run, but also has a potential primary in 2022 to sweat. Progressives are itching for him to move now, though it's probably too early: Democrats may need to show a pattern of Republican obstructionism before they move to eliminate the filibuster or set it aside situationally. But the moment is coming, probably sooner than later. | | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon raised its starting wage in 2018 to at least $15 an hour and has seen the benefit throughout its communities.
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 for more than ten years, despite the average cost of food and beverage increasing by 18% from 2009 to 2019.
It's time to raise the federal minimum wage. | | | Good Tuesday morning. Got a news tip? A document to share? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. ON THE ROAD AGAIN — Biden, VP KAMALA HARRIS and their spouses are hitting the road this week to sell the public on the American Rescue Plan. It's part of a carefully coordinated campaign to own the narrative of the massive piece of legislation — or, as Harris put it on her swing through Nevada on Monday, to give folks a lowdown on what is actually in the bill and what they are going to be getting out of it. First lady JILL BIDEN'S focus for the tour is on school reopenings, over which the president has received a lot of criticism. Jill Biden, an educator for three decades who continues to teach while serving as first lady, is uniquely suited to tout the more than $128 billion being sent to local and state agencies for schools. Eugene traveled with her Monday for her first stop at a school in New Jersey. On Wednesday, she's headed to Concord, N.H., for another school tour and visit. BIDEN'S TUESDAY — The president will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10:15 a.m. He'll depart the White House at 1:40 p.m. en route to Joint Base Andrews and at 2 p.m. will leave for Philadelphia. At 3:30 p.m., Biden will visit a small business in Chester, Pa. The president will depart Delaware County, Pa., at 5:45 p.m. en route to Wilmington, Del., where he'll stay overnight. — Press secretary JEN PSAKI will gaggle aboard Air Force One on the way to Philly. — Harris and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will travel from Los Angeles to Denver, where they'll stop by a vaccine clinic at Plan De Salud Del Valle Inc. in Fort Lupton, Colo. They'll have a listening session with small business owners at Maria Empanada in Denver. Then they'll head back to D.C. | | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon starting wage: $15
Federal minimum wage: $7.25
Amazon has seen the impact $15 can make. Learn more. | | | THE HOUSE will meet at noon. THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. and resume consideration of ISABELLA CASILLAS GUZMAN to lead the Small Business Administration. At noon, the Senate will recess for weekly caucus lunches before returning in the afternoon for a vote on Guzman's confirmation. The Senate will then proceed with a vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of KATHERINE TAI to be U.S. trade representative. | | | | JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST": Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country, and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out on this new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg elbow-bumps with a UPS employee during a visit Monday to a Landover, Md., facility that's helping transport vaccines. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | THE WHITE HOUSE CRACKING DOWN ON THE ULTIMATE FAVOR TO DONORS — "Biden under pressure to tap fewer political ambassadors than Trump, Obama," by Anita Kumar and Nahal Toosi: "Biden still plans to dole out ambassadorships to major campaign donors, but some diplomats say slashing the number of fundraisers sent to overseas posts would restore confidence in the federal government, boost State Department morale and send a message around the globe. "Most presidents in recent decades have given 30 percent of ambassadorships to political appointees, including major campaign donors. But Trump increased that number to roughly 44 percent, which included posts in some countries that usually went to career diplomats, such Thailand and Kenya. "Plenty of high-profile names have been mentioned, including Cindy McCain, widow of Sen. John McCain; longtime Biden friend and former Sen. Chris Dodd; and Comcast executive David Cohen. Richard Perkins, a donor and former speaker of the Nevada Assembly, told POLITICO that he is lobbying to be the top U.S. diplomat in Canada." WHAT'S THE MOVE — "Can Biden Stay on the Sidelines of the Andrew Cuomo Saga?" by NYT's Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher: "Mr. Biden is one of the very few people in the nation with the potential to prevent a protracted standoff between an increasingly isolated Mr. Cuomo and the rest of the Democratic Party. That has strained Mr. Biden's efforts to stay firmly on the sidelines as the governor faces a fusillade of calls to resign. "Mr. Biden and Mr. Cuomo have not spoken, people close to both men said. Asked on Sunday night whether Mr. Cuomo should resign, Mr. Biden said only, 'I think the investigation is underway, and we should see what it brings us.'" — Playbook notes: House Speaker NANCY PELOSI also stopped short of calling for Cuomo to step down, a different approach than Schumer. But the Senate majority leader has a different political calculus as a New Yorker and he has been aggressive about denying oxygen to the left to potentially primary him in 2022. While the NYT reports Cuomo was shocked by Schumer's defection, the leader wasn't about to let the entire New York delegation call for Cuomo to go without joining in. CLIMATE FILES — "Green groups launch $10 million ad campaign pressuring Biden, Congress to spend huge on climate," NBC: "A coalition of environmental groups backed by Democratic governors is launching a $10 million-plus ad campaign pressuring the Biden administration and Congress to spend trillions of dollars on climate change and clean energy as Washington gears up for its next fight over President Joe Biden's infrastructure and jobs plan. "Dubbed 'The Great American Build,' the campaign aims to set an aggressive starting point for negotiations over the size and scope of the infrastructure package." CONGRESS HOW KATIE PORTER LOST HER PRIZED COMMITTEE SEAT — The sudden disappearance of rising progressive star Rep. KATIE PORTER (D-Calif.) from the House Financial Services Committee raised eyebrows earlier this year on Capitol Hill. After all, how many times had she gone viral while sharply questioning Trump officials? This morning, Jennifer Haberkorn of the L.A. Times has some of some of the backstory, including an interview with Porter about being punished for tweaking her own party. The short version is this: Porter found herself in hot water for challenging House Democratic leaders like Pelosi and House Financial Services Chair MAXINE WATERS (D-Calif.). Through much of last year, she clashed with Waters on the panel, including over the use of poster boards as props in panel hearings. She also vocally challenged leaders about the committee selection process — only to find herself axed from her prized panel. Porter told Haberkorn she has no regrets and that her bills weren't being considered on the committee anyway. Playbook notes: This story is another reminder of how different the Democratic Party is from the GOP — not merely on ideals but in terms of how they operate on Capitol Hill. Congressional Republicans routinely cause problems for their leadership; it's almost expected. But Democratic members can be punished for stepping out of line. JHB SPEAKS! — Since nearly upending Trump impeachment trial 2.0, Rep. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER (R-Wash.) has gone dark. Recall she's the Republican who voted to impeach Trump and disclosed damaging bits from the Jan. 6 conversation between House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and Trump. Our Mel Zanona caught up with her this week, and she stands by what she did. "Sometimes the truth also hurts and you can't run from it." McCarthy summoned her to his office over her decision to go public with what she knew about his conversation with Trump during the trial. But JHB wouldn't divulge details of that conversation. UNTAPPED POWER — "Dems shun repeal of Trump regulations — for now," Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine: "Democrats have yet to use the Congressional Review Act to claw back any Trump-era regulations as of mid-March. The 25-year-old law allows the congressional majority party to essentially veto out regulations established during the waning days of an administration without facing a Senate filibuster. "Nearly two months into the new administration, time is running out to use the maneuver given the constraints of using the so-called CRA within 60 legislative days of a new regulation. The Senate is currently working through a series of Cabinet confirmations and set for a two-week recess at the end of the month. Most committee leaders said Monday they have made no final decisions." HMM … "Marjorie Taylor Greene tours Orthodox spots in Brooklyn," The Forward: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was stripped of her House committee assignments last month for antisemitic and other incendiary comments, toured Orthodox areas of Brooklyn and Long Island on Monday, according to a community leader who hosted her. Nachman Mostofsky, executive director of Chovevei Zion, an Orthodox Republican group based in Brooklyn, told the Forward that the Georgia Congresswoman had visited a Brooklyn yeshiva, matzah bakery, kosher supermarket and restaurant, and also some Orthodox areas of the Five Towns, a collection of heavily Jewish suburbs in Nassau County, N.Y. "Mostofsky declined to give more details about the visit but said his group had invited Taylor Greene, who was elected in 2020, as part of an educational tour." CONFIRMED — "Haaland confirmed by Senate as first Native American to lead Interior," WaPo | | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | POLITICS ROUNDUP NEWSOM GIVES FEINSTEIN A PUSH TOWARD THE EXITS — It's no secret in Washington that Democrats want Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-Calif.) to retire, er, yesterday. Usually those thoughts are not to be expressed in polite company. California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM, however, might as well have blared them from a microphone. Newsom told MSNBC host Joy Reid on Monday that he would nominate a Black woman to replace Feinstein if she steps down. To be fair, Reid pressed him — but it's not as if Newsom hasn't dodged a question from a reporter before. MSNBC has more. Playbook notes: Newsom has known Feinstein for decades — they're both former San Francisco mayors and members of the city's ruling elite — and he has long regarded her as a "mentor and friend." OUTSIDER NO MORE — "A new act for Bernie Sanders: Power broker," L.A. Times: "The democratic socialist who once encapsulated his time in Congress by writing a book titled 'Outsider in the House' has now become the consummate insider in the Senate. The Bernie who honeymooned in the Soviet Union, who declared the Democratic Party hopeless, who sparked a revolt against an Obama administration tax deal during an 8 ½-hour filibuster, has transitioned into the Bernie orchestrating trillion-dollar deals. "The 79-year-old who lost to President Biden in the 2020 primary is following a path carved out by earlier political celebrities such as Republican John McCain and Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, who bounced from defeat in their insurgent White House bids to final acts as legislative maestros." DECISIONS, DECISIONS — "Virginia GOP ends months-long standoff on nomination method," WaPo: "The Republican Party of Virginia ended months of paralyzing infighting by settling on a method to choose its nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Members of the party's governing board voted Friday night to make the picks at a May 8 'remote-voting' convention, with up to 37 polling locations across the state. "The vote concludes a protracted struggle within the party that some prominent Republicans have likened to a distracting 'dumpster fire' that overshadowed broader GOP campaign messaging." POLICY CORNER SCOOP: THE GOOGLE FILES — POLITICO's antitrust expert Leah Nylen delivers an exclusive this morning on a pivotal moment in Washington's power struggle with Silicon Valley: the decision by the Obama-era Federal Trade Commission to decline an antitrust suit against Google in 2013. According to the FTC staff's 312 pages of internal memos on the case, never before published in their entirety, that decision was marked by a host of misjudgments about the future of technology — like downplaying the future importance of mobile phones to the search market. | | | | TUNE IN TO 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 and start listening today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: WHEN GRISHAM DEFIED TRUMP … TO HIS FACE — Dutton Books, part of Penguin Random House, is out today with a paperback version of ABC chief White House correspondent Jon Karl's "Front Row at the Trump Show" ( $18), and it includes some new reporting. A few nuggets: — In mid-March of last year, Navy hospital ship Mercy was being deployed to Seattle to alleviate hospitals overburdened with infected Covid-19 patients. Instead, Trump redirected the ship to Los Angeles. The reason? Newsom had been complimentary of him, while Washington Gov. JAY INSLEE had been critical. "Don't you think we should send it to California? Gavin has been saying such nice things about me," Trump reportedly said, adding that Inslee was a "showboater" and "a real jerk." VP MIKE PENCE was in the room during the exchange, per Karl. — Another anecdote about former White House press secretary STEPHANIE GRISHAM is surprising given her seeming resentment of reporters and the fact that she never once held an on-camera press briefing. According to Karl, Grisham defied Trump's orders to remove CNN's KAITLAN COLLINS from a Covid-19 briefing room where Pence was speaking to reporters. "Go down there and get her out of there," Trump told Grisham, finding her in her office. "Mr. President, I really cannot do that," Grisham told Trump to his face mid-briefing, to which the president responded: "That's because you are weak! You are worthless!" STAFFING UP — The White House announced it plans to nominate Christopher Fonzone as general counsel of the Office of the DNI, Janie Hipp as general counsel of the Department of Agriculture, Leslie Kiernan as general counsel of the Department of Commerce and Todd Kim as assistant A.G. in DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division. — USAID announced a slate of senior staff political appointees including: Gideon Maltz, Travis Adkins, Jeremy Bernton, Natasha Bilimoria, Nikole Burroughs, Sarah Charles Phillips, Gabi Chojkier, Megan Doherty, Mileydi Guilarte, Diala Jadallah-Redding, Anjali Kaur, Jeremy Konyndyk, Zeppa Kreager, Mike Michener, Raj Panjabi, Neilesh Shelat, Michele Sumilas, Margaret Taylor and Rebecca Wexler. PAGING DONALD — "Vindman twin set for promotion after bad evaluations from Trump appointees," by Daniel Lippman: "Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman is set to be promoted to full colonel, despite attempts by loyalists to former President Donald Trump to derail his career following his bit role in the president's first impeachment, according to two people familiar with the matter. … "Both brothers were fired from the NSC a year ago by Trump, escorted out of the White House and sent back to the Pentagon. Yevgeny Vindman is now on a list of colonel promotions that has been approved by the White House and is going to the Senate for formal confirmation, according to the two people familiar with the matter. The list has recently circulated through senior leadership in the Army and is expected to be publicly released on Tuesday." The University of Chicago's Institute of Politics announced its class of spring fellows: former Rep. Justin Amash (Libertarian-Mich.), Nathan Law, Cecile Richards, Heather McTeer Toney and Sally Yates. TRANSITIONS — Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) will join the Government Accountability Institute as a distinguished fellow. … Lauren Baer will be managing partner at Arena, the progressive candidate/staff training and support organization. She currently is a strategic adviser at Hawkfish and the founder of More Like America, and ran for Congress in Florida in 2018. … Former Flint, Mich., Mayor Karen Weaver has been named interim executive director of the African American Mayors Association. … … Elizabeth Hart Thompson is joining Coca-Cola's federal affairs team to head the company's health and wellness advocacy. She previously was managing director at the Prime Policy Group, and is a Baron Hill, Melissa Bean and John Carney alum. … Amanda Farnan is now comms director for D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson. She most recently was partnerships manager at Protocol, and is a POLITICO alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) … NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg … AP's Julie Pace … MSNBC's Amy Shuster … Jeff Nussbaum, speechwriter for the president … Brittany Pedersen … former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), senior policy adviser at Squire Patton Boggs … Art Collins … SKDKnickerbocker's Jason Rosenbaum … Andy Lewin, VP at BGR Group … Rebecca Coffman … Patrick Appel … WaPo's Ellen McCarthy and Dalton Bennett … Ian McCaleb … Neil Vigdor … Denis Sgouros … Scott Simon … Mark Carney … Matt Greenberg … NYT's Brian Rosenthal … Alexandra Stabler … Kevin Varney, chief of staff for government operations at Boeing … Adam Blickstein … Gary Emerling … TechNet's Carl Holshouser … Bill Eacho, CEO and co-founder of the Partnership for Responsible Growth … Ben Steinhafel Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | | | A message from Amazon: When Amazon raised its starting wage to $15 an hour, employees found it easier to provide for their families. They could make home improvements and were ready for unexpected expenses like car repairs.
Amazon and its employees know first-hand the impact raising the minimum wage has. Now is the time to raise the federal minimum wage— learn more about Amazon's support of the Raise the Wage Act. | | | | | | | 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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