News: Manchin comes face to face with his critics

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Manchin comes face to face with his critics

Jun 08, 2021

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

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DRIVING THE DAY

BREAKING AT 5 A.M. — "Senators reveal further Capitol riot security failures in bipartisan report," by Nicholas Wu, reporting on the chamber's bipartisan, 100-page Jan. 6 autopsy: "Capitol security officials tracking threats of violence on Jan. 6 saw social media posts as early as late December 2020 about a plot to breach the complex — complete with maps of the building's tunnels and explicit threats of violence against members of Congress.

"'Surround every building with a tunnel entrance/exit. They better dig a tunnel all the way to China if they want to escape,' wrote one user on a pro-Trump blog. 'Bring guns. It's now or never,' another user wrote. … [Yet e]ven as the pro-riot chatter continued and tips came into the intelligence division, the full body of knowledge about what would become a deadly threat was not conveyed to the rest of Capitol Police leadership, rank-and-file officers or other law enforcement partners." More on this below, but first …

MANCHIN MEETS HIS CRITICS — A host of Black and civil rights leaders will visit Sen. JOE MANCHIN to discuss voting rights this morning — two days after the West Virginia moderate announced his opposition to Democrats' top legislative priority on the matter, the For the People Act (aka H.R. 1/S. 1). We're told the meeting was recommended by National Urban League President and CEO MARC MORIAL, and was set up a few weeks ago.

Those who know Manchin tell us the senator's mind isn't exactly open to persuasion on S. 1 as he heads into this meeting. So, we asked some of the participants how they plan to approach it. Here's what we heard back.

DERRICK JOHNSON, president and CEO of the NAACP, kept expectations low in an interview Monday night: "The goal of the meeting for us in the civil rights leadership is to establish and build the relationship. There was no particular item on the agenda, but we will have a conversation about our policy priorities and hopes to open up the dialogue so that we can, in fact, have the type of give-and-take opportunity to ensure that all Americans are supported."

Johnson said he plans to remind Manchin of the steps he took as secretary of state in West Virginia to expand voting.

We'll be watching especially closely what Rev. AL SHARPTON, who will also be attending, has to say afterward. Sharpton has had some choice words for Manchin (and Arizona Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA) in the past, telling Eugene in March: "The pressure that we are going to put on Sinema and Manchin is calling [the filibuster] racist and saying that they are, in effect, supporting racism."

— Other attendees include NAACP Legal Defense Fund President SHERRILYN IFILL and Morial, per NYT's Astead Herndon.

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QUIET S. 1 OPPOSITION? — Manchin might be the only avowed skunk at the S. 1 garden party, but privately a couple of Democratic senators aren't happy with how expansive the bill is either, per multiple sources familiar. They're apparently afraid to say so on the record; in fact, every Senate Democrat except Manchin co-sponsored the bill.

That tells you how powerful the progressive base is right now: so powerful that some Democrats are keeping their mouths shut in order to avoid antagonizing it.

SO WHY IS THIS BILL SO CONTROVERSIAL? Our Zach Montellaro has a good read on some of its most contentious provisions. The measure would combat restrictions to voting access that GOP legislatures have adopted recently — as well as mandate nationwide mail-in voting, same-day voter registration and at least two weeks of early voting.

But Zach notes that H.R. 1/S. 1 also includes provisions long opposed by the GOP and even some Democratic constituencies. They include:

— Effectively nullifying some voter ID requirements.

— Instituting new donor disclosure requirements for dark money spending in politics. (The ACLU also opposes this provision as overly broad.)

— Creating a new public financing system for campaigns. (Moderate Democrats privately hate this provision.)

— Shifting the power to redistrict from state legislatures to a national commission. (Several Congressional Black Caucus members dislike this idea.)

SO WHAT'S NEXT ON VOTING RIGHTS IN THE SENATE? S. 1 isn't passing; that is a fact. But Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER has signaled he will bring the bill to the floor anyway. For one, it gets progressives off his back as he can at least say he tried. For another, it gives him a campaign issue to gin up his base to try to keep the Senate in 2022.

However, Manchin — and more than a few voting rights activists — wants the chamber to pass H.R. 4, a narrower bill that could counter some of the efforts by GOP legislatures. It would resurrect DOJ oversight of voting laws in states with a history of racial discrimination or voter suppression, giving muscle to enforcement. Manchin has said he'd go one step further and make the provision apply to all 50 states.

So far, however, Alaska Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI is the only Republican who's publicly joined Manchin in his effort. And late Monday night, NBC's Sahil Kapur reported that H.R. 4, named after the late civil rights icon JOHN LEWIS, faces a "steep uphill climb" in the Senate as well. "It's a challenging one," Murkowski told Kapur. "You got to find an awful lot of Republicans to join us on this."

— One other option HuffPost's Igor Bobic and Arthur Delaney wrote about Monday night as well: an amended S. 1. They note that "even the left-leaning editorial board of The New York Times argued over the weekend that Democrats should pass a narrower bill, calling their current proposal 'poorly matched to the moment,' adding that it 'attempts to accomplish more than is currently feasible.'" Full story

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Good Tuesday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Keep reading for a photo of a topless senator. And don't hesitate to drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

BIDEN'S TUESDAY: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10:15 a.m.

The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 10:15 a.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI, NEC Deputy Director SAMEERA FAZILI and Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness PETER HARRELL will brief at 1 p.m.

HARRIS' TUESDAY:

— 10:05 a.m. CST: VP KAMALA HARRIS and Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR will witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Mexico on development programs in the Northern Triangle.

— 10:10 a.m.: Harris and López Obrador will take an official photo at the Palacio Nacional.

— 10:20 a.m.: Harris and López Obrador will participate in a bilateral meeting.

— 1:40 p.m.: The VP will meet with women entrepreneurs at the Sofitel Mexico City Reforma.

— 3 p.m.: Harris will meet with labor leaders at the Sofitel Mexico City Reforma.

— 4:35 p.m.: Harris will deliver remarks and take questions from press at the Sofitel Mexico City Reforma.

— 5:30 p.m.: The VP will participate in a virtual embassy meet and greet with embassy personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

— 6:45 p.m.: Harris will depart Mexico City en route to Washington, D.C., where she is scheduled to arrive at 11:35 p.m. EDT.

THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. to take up district judge nominations. It will vote at 3 p.m. on moving forward with the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee at 10 a.m. and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 2:15 p.m. IRS Commissioner CHARLES RETTIG will testify before the Senate Finance Committee at 10 a.m. Acting OMB Director SHALANDA YOUNG will testify before the Senate Budget Committee at 11 a.m.

THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. in a pro forma session. HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee at 10 a.m. VA Secretary DENIS MCDONOUGH will testify before the House Veterans Affairs Committee at 10 a.m. Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO will testify before a House Energy and Commerce 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 22-23.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Carper screenshot

SUN'S OUT, GUNS OUT … SPOTTED: Sen. TOM CARPER (D-Del.) pumping gas into his minivan — shirtless . We asked his office if bare-chested bravado is the senator's regular look when he's driving around his home state in warm weather. "Sen. Carper has one message," his spox CAMPBELL WALLACE wrote back. "The pristine five-star beaches of Delaware are back and open for business." (See you at Dewey and Rehoboth!)

THE WHITE HOUSE

A HEADLINE YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT TO SEE — "Biden Justice Department defends Trump in suit over rape denial," by Josh Gerstein: "The Biden administration is pressing on with a controversial Justice Department defense of President DONALD TRUMP in a defamation lawsuit brought by a writer who accused him of raping her at a New York City department store in the 1990s. The brief filed on Monday night with a federal appeals court is an illustration of how administrations of sharply different political outlooks often flock to the same legal positions in court, even if it means seeming to excuse or immunize alleged bad conduct by their predecessors.

"In the filing with the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department insisted that it was not endorsing Trump's conduct toward the writer, E. JEAN CARROLL, even as it argued that a law governing suits against federal officials justified the government's move to take over the former president's defense in the case."

HARRIS' MESSAGE — " Harris' blunt message in Guatemala: 'Do not come' to U.S.," by Sabrina Rodríguez: "Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Central America this week on a delicate diplomatic mission: Offer a message of hope to the people of Guatemala and other countries in the region. But discourage them from trying to cross the U.S.' southern border because they won't be welcomed on the other side.Her approach, on her first foreign trip as vice president, was clear: Be blunt.

"That won plaudits from local activists and civil society leaders as a solid start, but also highlighted the gulf that remains between the U.S. and Guatemalan governments, particularly when it comes to cracking down on corruption. Harris' ability to close that gulf will, ultimately, be the most important test of her fledgling diplomatic skills, not to mention her political agility as she positions herself for a possible future presidential run."

THE MORNING MANCHIN

THE ULTIMATE SURVIVOR'S REELECTION THREAT — "How Joe Manchin Survives as a Democrat in West Virginia," by NYT's Nate Cohn: "It is far too soon to evaluate Mr. Manchin's chances in 2024, but early indications are not promising. Mr. Manchin voted to convict Mr. Trump at his impeachment trial in February, and he has been front and center in major legislative debates over enacting President Biden's agenda.

"According to the Cooperative Election Study, a prominent academic survey, Mr. Manchin had just a 33 percent approval rating in October 2020, while 51 percent disapprove of his performance.

"Mr. Manchin's departure, whether in 2024 or thereafter, will mark the end of an era. There will be no Senate Democrat whose electoral history and coalition are so completely at odds with the new activist base of the party. Progressives will be free from the burden of trying to lure a senator with such a conservative voting base."

… WHOSE COLLEAGUES WON'T SAY A WORD — "The left hates Joe Manchin. His fellow Senate Dems are staying quiet," by Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine: "Joe Manchin is sparking outright fury from liberals — with some Black Democrats invoking Jim Crow laws and MITCH MCCONNELL as they blast the West Virginian's resistance to a sweeping elections bill. Manchin's fellow Senate Democrats are being far more conciliatory….

"[A]ngst is quietly rising inside the Democratic caucus over Manchin's approach… [But] those who serve alongside Manchin generally see nothing to gain by ticking off their mercurial colleague, at least in public. That's not just because of how desperately they need Manchin to confirm President Joe Biden's judicial nominees. Democrats also will have to rely on his vote if they try to push through a sweeping infrastructure spending bill on party lines."

CONGRESS

MORE ON THE LOPSIDED 1/6 REPORT — Expect a lot of chatter today and in the coming weeks about the Capitol Police's failure to recognize the looming threat of violence on Jan. 6. But as we read through the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees' joint report, we couldn't help but notice how much blame the chamber is putting on the agency sworn to protect them — and how little the panels said about Trump and the White House.

Indeed, the report barely mentions Trump's own failure to act that day. The panels didn't try to subpoena former White House advisers, pursuing a narrow scope to begin with.

The report comes as some officers are struggling with PTSD. Others have quit. Two have killed themselves. Many officers want answers about what took the National Guard so long to respond that day. As Wu reported, Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.), chair of the Rules Committee, said their report was supposed to show "united concern about the leadership of the Capitol Police," not individual officers. But there's no denying that the report fails to satisfy the curious.

Look for the document to up the pressure on Democratic leaders to announce next steps for a broader, more detailed investigation, now that the bipartisan commission failed.

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POLITICS ROUNDUP

OBAMA SOUNDS AN ALARM — "Obama criticizes Republicans for embracing 2020 falsehoods," CNN: "Former President BARACK OBAMA said Republicans have been 'cowed into accepting' a series of positions that 'would be unrecognizable and unacceptable even five years ago or a decade ago,' telling CNN's Anderson Cooper he is worried about the state of democracy in the United States …

"[S]ome [of] the former president's most searching commentary came when asked about the root causes to the deep divisions in the country, rifts that Obama attributed, in part, to questions about sources of information and race. 'We occupy different worlds. And it becomes that much more difficult for us to hear each other, see each other,' Obama said, something the former president attributed to a nationalization of both media and politics. … The solution, Obama said, is more face-to-face meetings where people are hearing each other's struggles and stories."

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

2024 WATCH — "DeSantis cashes in on rising star status with big-money blitz," by Alex Isenstadt: "The first-term Republican governor is set to hopscotch across Southern California for a half-dozen reelection fundraisers this week, including stops in Los Angeles, Irvine and Manhattan Beach. He will also head to Las Vegas, where former Nevada state Attorney General ADAM LAXALT is slated to host a high-dollar event. In the weeks to come, [RON] DESANTIS is expected to make a fundraising tour through the Northeast as well.

"The blitz comes as DeSantis draws widespread interest from Republican Party donors eyeing the next generation of party leaders, who have praised him for his anti-coronavirus lockdown policies and his combativeness toward the media. With the prospect of a Donald Trump comeback bid still uncertain, many contributors scoping out the party's bench are flooding DeSantis with five-, six-, and even seven-figure checks for his 2022 campaign in Florida."

CUOMO INVESTIGATION EXPANDS — "Federal Prosecutors Subpoena Material Related to Andrew Cuomo's Book," by WSJ's Jimmy Vielkind and Corinne Ramey: "Prosecutors working for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn asked for communications related to Mr. Cuomo's October 2020 book, 'American Crisis,' including contracts and materials used to pitch the book to publishers, the people said. They said the subpoenas indicated prosecutors are interested in nursing-home issues in the book, which more broadly recounted the governor's response to the pandemic."

TRUMP CARDS

QUITE THE COMBO — "Donald Trump To Go On Speaking Tour With Bill O'Reilly To Talk Up His Presidency," by Deadline's Ted Johnson

GIULIANI LATEST — "New audio of 2019 phone call reveals how Giuliani pressured Ukraine to investigate baseless Biden conspiracies," by CNN's Matthew Chance and Marshall Cohen

GAETZ-GATE

HARD TIMES — "Newsmax turned down embattled Republican Matt Gaetz for a job," by Reuters' Mark Hosenball: "Gaetz contacted Newsmax early this year, a source at the outlet said. That was around the time that news broke Gaetz was the subject of a federal investigation into possible sex trafficking of a minor. …

"'Newsmax has had no plans to hire Rep. Gaetz,' said BRIAN PETERSON, a spokesperson for the website. A source familiar with Newsmax's policies said: 'Earlier this year, (Gaetz) reached out and said he might leave Congress early and was interested in TV work.' The three-term Florida congressman's approach to Newsmax management was 'just a conversation' and Newsmax 'never told him we were interested' in hiring him, the source said."

WHAT WE'RE READING

THE GILDED AGE, from the 1880s to the 1900s, was a time of progress but also hideous retrenchment. How did the U.S. let segregation take hold, ensuring that racial inequities would scar the country for decades? The reason is the Supreme Court struck down civil rights, refused to enforce voting rights and approved the separate-but-equal doctrine. How did economic inequality become so vast — so insanely out of control — that a handful of rich families lived in Versailles-like palaces dripping with gold while immigrant workers lived 10 to a room in New York tenements? The reason is the Supreme Court struck down antitrust actions, declared the federal income tax to be unconstitutional and invalidated efforts to impose labor standards.

One jurist, usually standing alone, rose up furiously in opposition to all these decisions. He was Supreme Court Justice JOHN MARSHALL HARLAN, and his dissents lit a path for future generations to overturn those decisions. If the court had listened to Harlan in the first place, the country would have been spared untold amounts of suffering.

Now is a good time to ask why Harlan saw things so differently from all his colleagues, and how today's Americans can replicate his courage and vision. That's the theme of "The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero," which will be published by Simon & Schuster today. Written by POLITICO's PETER S. CANELLOS, it is, in the words of Publishers Weekly, a "masterful" evocation of a period in American history marked by judicial and economic extremes.

Canellos book

ADAM HOCHSCHILD, who, as author of "King Leopold's Ghost" and "Bury the Chains," is no stranger to narratives of gross injustice, writes, "Peter Canellos has vividly brought to life an absolutely fascinating story that I'm embarrassed I didn't know: A man raised in a slave-owning family who became one of the greatest champions of civil rights in the history of the Supreme Court, his lone-dissenter opinions cited decades after his death. John Marshall Harlan needs to be added to our pantheon of American heroes."

DESSERT/THE MUNCHIES

The appropriately named Mike Baker of NYT tweets about "Joints for Jabs" — the latest in ever-more-creative efforts by various states to induce people to get vaccinated.

"You can now get a free joint with your covid vaccine in Washington State," he writes . "Cannabis retailers can give the joints to adults who get an on-site vaccine."

JOIN TODAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON THE PATH TO A LOW-CARBON FUTURE: Reducing waste and conserving scarce natural resources are key goals of the movement to a circular economy. As the nation considers opportunities to reduce waste and improve recyclability, how can these efforts align with other measures to combat climate change? Join POLITICO for a high-level conversation on what it will take to build both a circular economy and a low-carbon future. REGISTER HERE.

PLAYBOOKERS

BIDEN TECH GURU IS LOADED … IN BITCOIN — "Top White House tech critic Tim Wu holds more than $1M in Bitcoin," by Daniel Lippman: "Tim Wu, a tough critic of tech companies' power, owns between $1 million and $5 million in Bitcoin, as well as between $100,001 and $250,000 in Filecoin, which is a storage platform for cryptocurrency, according to the disclosure. His investment in Bitcoin is his largest holding in his financial portfolio.

"Wu joined the Biden administration in March as special assistant for technology and competition policy to the president at the National Economic Council. While Wu will not have any involvement in developing policies about cryptocurrency in that role, the disclosures show that one of Big Tech's most prominent critics is also invested in an asset class that is a major tech world obsession."

SPOTTED: U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry seated at Gate B14 in Boston waiting to board the 5:30 p.m. American Airlines flight to DCA on Monday. Pic

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Lynda Tran is now senior adviser and director of public engagement at DOT. She most recently was a partner at 270 Strategies and a CBS News political contributor.

— Jeanne Moran is now a policy comms manager at Facebook, where she focuses on content and safety. She most recently was a senior director at Forbes Tate Partners.

STAFFING UP — Elizabeth Peace now works in the office of comms at the Department of the Interior. She most recently was director of corporate comms at the Corona Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

TRANSITIONS — Rebecca Christopher is joining Invariant to head its digital media practice. She previously was at Purpose, Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign and the DNC. … Miriam Cash is now deputy comms director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). She previously was press secretary for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). … Morgan Butler is now engagement and outreach manager for public policy at Twitter. She most recently was digital director for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). …

… Former Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) is joining Utah State University's Center for Growth and Opportunity as national outreach director. … Sophie White will be an associate at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher. She previously was legislative director at the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) … former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) … Tim Grieve … Cory Fritz of FTI Consulting … Matt Whitlock … Bloomberg's Patrick Garrigan … The Atlantic's Justin Peligri … Eric Kuhn … Sarah Hashemi … Jonathan Collegio of the National Automobile Dealers Association … Kelsey Harkness … Roger Hickey of Campaign for America's Future … Taylor Mason of KPM Group … Jennifer Dunn of Wells Fargo … Lindsey Wagner-Oveson of Handshake … Paul Winfree of the Heritage Foundation … Strategic Partners & Media's Russ Schriefer … CNN's Sonia Moghe … WaPo's Kris Coratti Kelly … The Bulwark's Hannah Yoest … Erin Gorman Van Alsten … Chris Good … Lale Morrison … Tom Davidson … Laura Hayes … Kim Duffy … POLITICO's Mike Shaw, Arjun Kakkar, Emily Keith and Hira Ahmad … Jim Cicconi … Donald Sussman … Julianna Margulies

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.

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