Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Liberals fume at Biden over demise of voting rights bill

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POLITICO Playbook

By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Tara Palmeri

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DRIVING THE DAY

MUST READ: New York Democrats go to the polls today. Start your morning with RUBY CRAMER'S debut POLITICO Mag piece , in which she strolls through Prospect Park chatting with the deeply unpopular outgoing Mayor BILL DE BLASIO on one of his meandering daily walks. Our favorite scene: "[A] father and his young son are playing catch with a miniature football. De Blasio is barely in sight before the father stops, spots the mayor, and yells: 'No one wants you! You're the worst. You're the WORST!' His son watches in silence. 'I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO GET OUT.' De Blasio turns, as if saying goodbye to a cashier. 'Have a nice day!' he says, then plows ahead on the trail."

DOA — The top legislative priority of progressive Democrats is set to die in the Senate today with barely a whimper of protest from the White House. Republicans will easily filibuster the For the People Act, killing the sweeping elections proposal once and for all.

It's a reminder that for all the talk about H.R. 1 by both sides, it's always been a messaging bill — a check-the-box move allowing party leaders to tell the left they tried.

The left, however, is not happy. Progressives are steaming that President JOE BIDEN didn't use his bully pulpit to try to move the needle on the bill — or strike a deal allowing Congress to block GOP legislatures from curbing access to voting. They want to know how Democratic leaders can claim in one breath that democracy is in jeopardy — and in the next let this legislation crash and burn.

Indivisible founder EZRA LEVIN went on a tear about this Monday, declaring in a Twitter thread : "I have reached my WTF moment with Biden on this." The progressive grassroots leader said BARACK OBAMA "did a live debate with House GOP on the ACA," BILL CLINTON "gave 18 speeches on NAFTA and deputized [AL] GORE to debate ROSS PEROT on it," and DONALD TRUMP and GEORGE W. BUSH "were all tax cuts all the time."

"Where is the president?" he asked. "Is saving democracy a priority for this Administration or not? I don't want to see some tepid public statement. We need to see the President and VP using the full force of their bully pulpit to lead."

It's pretty clear it's too late for that.

Activists aren't alone in their frustration. More than 480 state legislators from all 50 states signed onto a letter this morning calling for the bill's passage. And progressives in the Senate like JEFF MERKLEY (D-Ore.) are warning that the party will pay a big price for failing to meet the moment. "We are going to lose the opportunity to basically enact legislation for the people for a decade, or decades, to come," he told thousands of activists on a Zoom call Monday night. "It's very, very, very bleak. It's policy and political Armageddon."

A message from the American Investment Council:

This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year. Millions of Americans got vaccinated, many of the small businesses we know and love survived the pandemic and are thriving, and the travel sector is rebounding. Learn more at https://www.investmentcouncil.org/summer.

 

HOW TODAY WILL GO DOWN — Expect the typical rhetorical posturing from both sides as the chamber takes a procedural vote to consider bringing up the bill. Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER will blast Republicans for refusing to allow a simple debate, without mentioning, of course, the many times Democrats used the filibuster to do the same to GOP bills while in the minority. Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL will decry the bill as a Democratic "power grab," as he's been doing for months.

But the center of attention, naturally, will be Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), the single Democratic holdout on the bill. Manchin was in talks late Monday night with bill sponsor Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) trying to haggle out an agreement that will win his vote. He wants provisions on D.C. statehood and public financing of elections removed, and one of the final sticking points, we're told, was voter ID.

Democratic senators gave Manchin a hard time last week in a private lunch about his insistence on nationwide voting ID requirements. Progressives have blasted such rules as discriminatory, but the reality is they are overwhelmingly popular. According to a Monmouth poll released Monday, 62% of Democrats, 87% of independents and 91% of Republicans support requiring voters to show a photo ID in order to vote.

One possible area for some wiggle room: We ran into Sen. MARTIN HEINRICH (D-N.M.) on a flight back to D.C. on Monday, and he recounted a recent caucus meeting where Manchin said he'd be fine with a non-photo form of ID, such as a utility bill. (It's how things are done in Manchin's home state.)

SO WHY ARE LEADERS BOTHERING with Manchin's vote if the bill is toast? It's all about 2022, as Burgess Everett reports today: If Democrats are unified, the party can paint a more vivid contrast with Republicans on elections. A "no" from Manchin would complicate that messaging.

There's also another reason: Lawmakers like Heinrich who want to nix the filibuster say votes like today's are critical for garnering support for that idea as well. He said holdouts — like Manchin and KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) — need to witness obstruction firsthand if they're ever going to budge.

BUT GOOD LUCK WITH SINEMA … The senator has a new op-ed in WaPo headlined: "We have more to lose than gain by ending the filibuster"

Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

 

A message from the American Investment Council:

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This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year. Learn more about private equity's investments at https://www.investmentcouncil.org/summer.

 

BIDEN'S TUESDAY:

— 10:15 a.m.: The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President's Daily Brief.

— 12:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris will have lunch together.

— 1:45 p.m.: Biden will meet with FEMA Administrator DEANNE CRISWELL and homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser ELIZABETH SHERWOOD-RANDALL in the Roosevelt Room.

The White House COVID-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 12:30 p.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 1 p.m.

THE SENATE is in.

THE HOUSE will meet at noon to consider a number of bills, with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Fed Chair JAY POWELL will testify before a House Oversight subcommittee at 2 p.m.

 

DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-24.

 
 
PLAYBOOK READS

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) looks on as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) carries his dog Theo through the Senate subway on his way to a vote at the Capitol on June 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) takes his dog Theo onto the Senate subway on his way to a vote Monday. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

FOR THE RECORD — Our colleague Andrew Desiderio also snapped a pic of Tillis and Theo, who's named after former President THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "I name all my dogs after conservatives," Tillis said. The pic

ELECTION DAY IN NYC

PRIMARY ROUNDUP — "'No one is gonna steal the election from me': Echoes of 2020 in NYC mayor's race," by Erin Durkin and David Giambusso: "[ERIC] ADAMS, who is Black, implied the alliance between KATHRYN GARCIA and ANDREW YANG was a form of voter suppression, though such arrangements are one of the intended outcomes of ranked-choice voting. Supporters of the borough president went as far as to say the move was intended to 'disenfranchise Black voters,' a claim made in statements distributed by the Adams campaign.

"The controversy has led to uncertainty about how the outcome of the election will be received, since no ranked-choice tallies will be released until a week after election day and it could be weeks until a final call is made. Asked Monday if he would accept the results of the election, Adams didn't make any promises.

"'Can you assure voters that's not what you're doing here?' a reporter asked, referencing former President Donald Trump's claims that the presidential election was stolen. 'Yes,' Adams replied. 'I assure voters that no one is gonna steal the election from me.'"

MORE NY HEADLINES — "Candidates make a last dash for votes, and battle over alliances," NYT … "Many New Yorkers leave mayoral race decision to last minute," N.Y. Daily News … "De Blasio bashes mayoral candidates Yang and Garcia's 'opportunistic' alliance," AMNY … "A view from the van: On the road with New York mayoral contender Kathryn Garcia," by Tina Nguyen … "Maya Wiley says she should be mayor of New York. Former City Hall colleagues aren't so sure," by Erin Durkin, Danielle Muoio and Amanda Eisenberg

THE WHITE HOUSE

HARD TO BELIEVE THIS STILL EXISTS — "Biden administration to endorse bill to end disparity in drug sentencing between crack and powder cocaine," by WaPo's Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim: "At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, REGINA LABELLE, the acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, plans to express the administration's support for the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act, or Equal Act.

"The legislation, which is sponsored by Senate Majority Whip DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) and Sens. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) and ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio), would eliminate the sentencing disparity and give people who were convicted or sentenced for a federal cocaine offense a resentencing."

HISTORIC MOMENT FOR HARRIS — "Kamala Harris to step into global spotlight with UN Generation Equality Forum speech," by The 19th's Errin Haines: "A generation after HILLARY CLINTON declared on an international stage that 'women's rights are human rights,' Vice President Kamala Harris will address a United Nations women's forum on gender equity in a live speech next week, placing her in the global spotlight in the midst of a pandemic that has had a disproportionate impact on women in the United States and abroad.

"Harris will lead the U.S.' virtual delegation to the Generation Equality Forum in Paris June 30 through July 2. She will provide live opening remarks alongside co-hosts French President EMMANUEL MACRON, Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR and U.N. Secretary GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES."

CONGRESS

RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK — "Senate's bipartisan infrastructure deal nears its big reveal," by Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine: "The group of 21 senators, roughly evenly split between both parties, is sketching out its spending plan in far greater detail than previously reported, with a four-page breakdown circulating Capitol Hill and reviewed by POLITICO. But the effort is still a work in progress and several of the senators met on Monday night as staff work near-constantly to refine the numbers. The group will meet again on Tuesday."

 

A message from the American Investment Council:

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This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year.

 

POLITICS ROUNDUP

FROM 30,000 FEET — "When It Comes to Big City Elections, Republicans Are in the Wilderness," by NYT's Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin: "The realignment of national politics around urban-versus-rural divisions has seemingly doomed Republicans in these areas as surely as it has all but eradicated the Democratic Party as a force across the Plains and the Upper Mountain West. At the national level, Republicans have largely accepted that trade-off as advantageous, since the structure of the federal government gives disproportionate power to sparsely populated rural states.

"But the party's growing irrelevance in urban and suburban areas also comes at a considerable cost, denying conservatives influence over the policies that govern much of the population and sidelining them in some of the country's centers of innovation and economic might. The trend has helped turn formerly red states, like Georgia and Arizona, into purple battlegrounds as their largest cities and suburbs have grown larger and more ethnically mixed."

WHERE VOTING ACCESS IS ACTUALLY EXPANDING — "The pandemic changed how we vote. These states are making the changes permanent," by Zach Montellaro: "Two states that switched during the pandemic to universal mail voting — mailing ballots to all active registered voters in each election — will now continue that practice permanently, for at least general elections: Nevada and Vermont. Several other states are moving to allow no-excuse mail voting permanently, after allowing it temporarily while Covid-19 raged in 2020.

"And while many of the state-level expansions of voting programs are happening in blue states, some red states have made changes as well. Kentucky, where Republicans have legislative supermajorities and Trump won the presidential contest by 25 points in 2020, codified in-person early voting for the first time this year. …

"Altogether, the changes mean that millions more Americans will receive mail ballots in future elections, and the number could balloon even more if backers in California successfully switch the state to a universal mail voting system. In total, seven states will now have largely mail-based election systems with the two newest additions joining Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington."

TRUMP CARDS

A DOJ OFFICIAL TELLS ALL — "Trump Election Pressure Caused Senior Justice Official to Weigh Resigning," by WSJ's Aruna Viswanatha: "JOHN DEMERS, head of the Justice Department's national security division, said the sole time in his three-year tenure he considered resigning came when the agency fell under pressure from Trump to pursue baseless claims of election fraud.

"In early January, Mr. Trump was threatening to fire the acting attorney general over the sought-after election investigation, and, Mr. Demers recalled Monday, he was trying to figure out who would sign foreign intelligence surveillance requests and conduct other agency business if he resigned in protest along with other leading officials."

ONE HEFTY FEE — "RNC paid Trump's Mar-a-Lago over $175,000 for donor retreat," by CNBC's Brian Schwartz

SUING THE CITY — "Trump Organization sues New York City for wrongful termination of contracts," by ABC's John Santucci and Aaron Katersky

CASE DISMISSED — "Judge tosses bulk of suit against feds from Lafayette Park protesters," by Josh Gerstein: "U.S. District Court Judge DABNEY FRIEDRICH rejected demonstrators' claims for damages against former officials such as Trump, Attorney General WILLIAM BARR and Defense Secretary MARK ESPER, as well as some current federal officials. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, also declined to consider requests for an injunction barring similar uses of force against protesters in the future."

 

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PLAYBOOKERS

SOLD! — "Raimondo's Providence house sells for over $1.1 million," WPRI: "Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO is no longer a Providence resident. Raimondo and her husband, ANDY MOFFIT, sold their East Side home on Monday for $1.155 million, according to a listing on the real-estate website Zillow. The purchase was handled by JAMES DERENTIS, a prominent broker who is also the husband of former Raimondo chief of staff BRETTY SMILEY."

SPOTTED: Wilbur and Hilary Geary Ross having dinner with Bret and Amy Baier (note to Franco Nuschese: might be time to give Baier a tab) at Cafe Milano on Monday night; and retired Gen. David Petraeus chatting with UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, who was sitting at another table. … Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on a flight from Colorado to DCA on Monday.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Matt Fuehrmeyer is now president of The American Independent, the progressive news organization founded by David Brock. He most recently was owner of Furious Strategies and is a DCCC, Al Franken and Harry Reid alum.

Erin O'Donnell is now broadcast media manager at the DNC. She previously was executive assistant to Fox News President Jay Wallace and was also a broadcast intern in the Obama White House.

STAFFING UP — Rachel Weiss is now director of comms at HHS' Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. She previously was director of external affairs at UnitedHealth Group.

TRANSITIONS — Bryan Wells is now a director at Stanton Park Group. He most recently was senior health policy director for former Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). … Jana Denning is joining the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO as director of government affairs. She currently is EVP at Emerald Collaborative Partners. … Jill Pike is returning to Finsbury Glover Hering as a managing director in Los Angeles. She most recently was VP of comms at Vox Media, and is an NFL alum.

ENGAGED — Anna Hubbard, a senior account executive at Murphy O'Brien PR and an ICM Partners alum, and Mark Rutter, a senior associate at Paul Hastings, got engaged Friday. They met in May 2019 on Hinge. Pic via Heather Decamp Photography

— Todd Inman, former chief of staff at the Department of Transportation, and Anne Duncan, VP at Savills, got engaged this weekend at the Urban Stillhouse in St. Petersburg, Fla. Pic

WEDDINGS — Bailey (La Sage) Mailloux, digital director for the House Natural Resources Committee Republicans, and Matthew Mailloux, budget director for New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, got married June 12 in Madison, Wis. Pic via Kristen McGinnis Photography

— Stephen Gordon, a senior professional staff member for the House Oversight GOP, and Daisy Letendre, a lobbyist for FirstEnergy Corp., got married this weekend at the Sulgrave Club in D.C. The two met while working as political appointees at the EPA in 2017, and they're honeymooning at the Coral Reef Club in Barbados. Pic Another pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) … Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Blake Moore (R-Utah) … AP's Jill Colvin … Apple News' Michael FalconeBrian Rell Joni Smith of the Scottish government's D.C. office … Pia Carusone … ICANN's Carlos ReyesNate Sizemore of Rep. Tom Reed's (R-N.Y.) office … Alisha Sud of FasterCures … Lauren Weiner of the ACLU Brit Hume Herald Group's Steven Smith … Google's Megan ChanDana HarrisLuke Bassett … CRC Advisors' Brian DohertyLori KelleyMike Carter-ConneenAdam Sabes Jesse Chase-LubitzAndrew Malcolm Derek Hunter Carson Daly

Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.

A message from the American Investment Council:

This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year. According to the Wall Street Journal, "private-equity portfolio companies have been involved in nearly every step" of getting people vaccinated against COVID-19. A new report from EY shows that the majority of private equity investment in 2020 went to small businesses. They also helped many of the businesses we know and love – like Baskin Robbins, LegoLand, and BlackRock Coffee – get to the other side of the pandemic poised for new growth and job creation. And the travel industry is rebounding, thanks to private equity investment in companies like Airbnb, RVShare, and Expedia. This year, we're celebrating summer because of private equity's investments in our families and communities. Learn more at https://www.investmentcouncil.org/summer.

 
 

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