Axios Sneak Peek: Chauvin verdicts reduce pressure for reform ... Corporate America sees its downside

Plus: Church groups say they can help the government more at border | Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Kadia Goba ·Apr 20, 2021 Welcome back to Sneak. A nation held its breath — and then exhaled. Today's newsletter — edited by Glen Johnson — is 665 words, a 2.5-minute read.     1 big thing: Chauvin verdicts reduce pressure for police reform Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Biden addresses the nation. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images   The unanimous guilty verdicts against Derek Chauvin are a huge relief for Washington's political establishment but seem unlikely to rush in the systemic overhauls George Floyd's family and civil rights and progressive leaders seek, Axios' Alayna Treene and Kadia Goba write. The big picture: An acquittal or mistrial involving the former police officer would have unleashed violence and days more of protests — and added bipartisan pressure to act on criminal and police reform. Senior Democratic and Republican aides — who would never let their bosses say so on the record — privately told Axios the convictions have lessened pressure for change. They noted the aftermath of mass shootings: time and again, Congress has failed to pass gun control legislation, and the conversation ultimately moves on until another terrible event occurs. At the White House, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held out hope. "We're going to make something good come out of this tragedy," Harris told the nation. Biden called the verdicts "a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America," and said, "No one should be above the law, and today's verdict sends that message. But it's not enough. We can't stop here." Keep reading.     2. Corporate America finds downside to politics Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   Corporate America is finding it can get messy when it steps into politics, Alayna and Axios' Lachlan Markay write. Why it matters: Urged on by shareholders, employees and its own company creeds, Big Business is taking increasing stands on controversial political issues during recent months — and now it's beginning to see the fallout. Companies are being criticized by the left, their employees and customers if they don't step up, the right for cutting off insurrectionists and being "too woke," and the left again if they withhold opinions on even more political flashpoints. Republicans also find themselves in a mess of their own making. While they chastise and threaten the companies that have cut off political donations after the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, they're leading the charge against the Democrats' efforts to hike the corporate tax rate to pay for Biden's $2.2 trillion infrastructure package. The bottom line: Controversy is "a cost of doing business" these days, according to Doug Pinkham, the president of the Public Affairs Council. Keep reading.     3. Church groups say they can help the government more at border A mural inside of Casa del Refugiado in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Stef Kight/Axios   Despite the separation between church and state, the federal government depends upon religious shelters to help it cope with migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Axios' Stef Kight and Russell Contreras found. Why it matters: The network supports the U.S. in times of crisis, but now some shelter leaders are complaining about expelling families to Mexico when they have capacity — and feel a higher calling — to accommodate them. "They're human beings. They're here in my community, and they need help," said Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs Catholic Charities in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Axios interviewed Sister Norma after a visit to the Southwest that included stops on both sides of the border. What's happening: Sister Norma told Axios her shelters have been receiving 400 to 800 migrants from the Border Patrol each day, mostly parents and children. Despite that influx, "I haven't seen the numbers as high as 2019," she said, adding it may be because the Border Patrol presence is sending some migrants to other sections of the border. A plane or two holding about 135 migrants who crossed in South Texas is being sent to other border areas like El Paso and Laredo, Texas, and San Diego, California, each day, said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas. Keep reading.     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.     4. Asian, Hispanic voter turnout spiked in 2020 Data: TargetSmart; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios Far more Asian and Hispanic voters showed up at the polls last fall than in 2016 — helping propel Joe Biden to victory, Stef reports after reviewing new data rooted in individual-level voter files collected by the Democratic firm TargetSmart. Why it matters: There was record turnout in November 2020, driven by voters of color and "resulting in the most diverse electorate in the history of U.S. elections," TargetSmart CEO Tom Bonier said. More than 4 million Asian Americans voted, as well as more than 12 million Hispanic voters and 12.9 million Black voters. Still, about 78% of voters were white, according to TargetSmart data.     5. Pic du jour Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), left, and John Kennedy (R-La.) speak privately during a hearing with EPA Administrator Michael Regan.     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.   👏 Thanks as always for reading Sneak. A reminder that you can sign up for email delivery through this link. This newsletter is written in Smart Brevity®. Learn how your team can communicate in the same smart, clear style with Axios HQ.   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. 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