News : A newsy Saturday: Immigration fires, and Biden’s Facebook fury

Saturday, July 17, 2021

A newsy Saturday: Immigration fires, and Biden’s Facebook fury

Jul 17, 2021

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By Eugene Daniels

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DRIVING THE DAY

Today marks one year since congressman and civil rights icon JOHN LEWIS died. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a look at how Atlanta and the nation are remembering him. More on the current voting rights push below …

On Friday we wrote about Democrats' bid to jam immigration reform through the reconciliation process, an effort that probably won't make it past the Senate parliamentarian. Within hours, a pair of developments fueled the left's frustration — and hardened Republicans' resolve — around the immigration issue:

— "June Sets Monthly Record for Most Migrants to Arrive at Border," by NYT's Eileen Sullivan: "According to new data released on Friday by Customs and Border Protection, June also brought more migrant families to the border than any other month since Biden took office. In all, border officials encountered migrants there 188,829 times, the largest number in a single month in recent history." This comes as "progressive Democrats have ratcheted up their pressure on [President JOE] BIDEN to end the use of a Trump-era public health rule that suspends asylum rights in the name of protecting Americans from the coronavirus," aka Title 42, the Times' Mike Shear and Eileen Sullivan write in a separate analysis piece.

AND:

— "Federal judge finds DACA unlawful, blocks new applicants," by Sabrina Rodríguez and Josh Gerstein: "In a 77-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge ANDREW HANEN found that DACA is unlawful and that the Department of Homeland Security can no longer approve new applicants into the program, which has granted work permits and protection from deportation to more than 600,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. He also ruled that DHS could continue to process DACA renewals for now as the issue continues to move through the courts.

"The court order does not 'require DHS or the Department of Justice to take any immigration, deportation, or criminal action against any DACA recipient, applicant, or any other individual that it would not otherwise take,' Hanen wrote in the ruling." Biden put out a statement this morning saying DOJ will appeal.

The AP's Jill Colvin sets the political backdrop with a McAllen, Texas, dateline story: "GOP eyes Latinos in South Texas in effort to regain Congress": "Republican leaders believe the party is on the precipice of a political realignment among Hispanic voters in communities along the southern border like this one. … 'I don't think there's any question that we need to be concerned about it and we need to put more resources into it,' said GILBERTO HINOJOSA, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party."

Colvin goes on to note national numbers from Pew that have Democrats fretting: "[A]bout 38% of Hispanic voters supported [DONALD] TRUMP in 2020, compared with 28% in 2016. While Trump lost Hidalgo Country by 17 percentage points in 2020, he more than doubled his support from 2016, when he lost by a whopping 40 points, earning just 28% of the vote. And he flipped a handful of other nearby districts, including Zapata County, which Democrat HILLARY CLINTON had won 66%-33%, and Kenedy, which Clinton carried 53%-45%."

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS — VP KAMALA HARRIS spent many hours this week meeting with groups focused on voting rights, including the Texas Democrats who fled the state to prevent a quorum and Black female civil rights leaders protesting in the nation's capital.

In the latter meeting Friday, we're told the VP did a lot of listening, while telling the women she's adopting a "whole-of-government" approach — i.e. looking for ways federal agencies can bolster voting rights and not just relying on Congress (our translation). Biden made a surprise appearance, we're told, signaling to the group that the concern extends to the top.

But leaders, activists and lawmakers continue to zero in on the filibuster. Both the group of Black female leaders and the Texas Democrats brought up the procedural rule that is key to holding up voting rights. "We are unified around really pushing for that change. You can't tell us that process is more important than our vote," said MELANIE CAMPBELL, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. Campbell also met with Biden with other civil rights leaders last week.

One Texas Democrat told Playbook that during the filibuster conversation, Harris said "everything was on the table" but wouldn't give a firm answer on what the administration would be pushing for.

Texas Dems are working to arrange meetings next week with Speaker NANCY PELOSI, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. They're also hoping for a sitdown with filibuster holdout Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.).

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

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WHITE HOUSE-FACEBOOK WHIPLASH — POLITICO tech reporter Alexandra Levine writes in: One day press secretary JEN PSAKI says the White House and Facebook are collaborating to identify "problematic posts" spreading vaccine disinformation. The next — Friday afternoon — Biden says platforms like Facebook are "killing people."

It's the latest indicator of the increasingly tense relationship between the president and the internet giant. Things started out well enough: Biden padded his team with influential Facebook alums and his administration linked arms with Facebook to educate the public about Covid-19, including by cracking down on misleading information. And the social network's decision to ban Trump muted Biden's loudest critic just as he took office — an enormous gift.

But lately, there's been a sharp change of tune — and it could be because the country is slipping backward on recovery. The Biden administration is falling short of its vaccination goals , the Delta variant is causing spikes in new cases across the country, and mask mandates are coming back. Turning up the heat on Facebook is a way to deflect, or at least share, some of that blame, and help rationalize why the U.S. is where it is. Facebook is also an easy target for Biden because it's one he knows Congress can get behind: Covid-related misinformation is one area where many lawmakers agree that Facebook could be doing more. (And you've notably not yet seen Biden go after Fox News for its recent anti-vaccine rhetoric.)

Facebook isn't having it. "We will not be distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts," the company said in a statement, noting that more people have viewed authoritative information about Covid and vaccines on Facebook "than any other place on the internet."

It's the most contentious, public spat yet between Facebook and the Biden White House, and it remains to be seen just how much Biden keeps up his demonizing of the tech company — particularly at a time when he faces enormous pressure from across Washington to rein in Big Tech.

WaPo with the stepback: "That condemnation is likely to exacerbate the longtime tensions between him and social media companies, a lingering distrust that for many Democrats is rooted in Russian disinformation on Donald Trump's behalf that took hold during the 2016 presidential campaign."

THE BOSTON GLOBE'S JAMES PINDELL, on the scene at Iowa's first (we think?) 2024 Republican cattle call, makes a surprising finding: GOP faithful in the state think Trump should hang it up . "[A]s some 1,200 evangelicals gathered here for the Family Leadership Summit … there was a feeling among some that it was time to move on," he writes. "'I agree with pretty much everything Trump did on policy as president, but I don't think it would be good for him or good for the country if he ran again,' said KEN HAYES, a retired nonprofit worker from rural Fort Dodge, who said he prayed for Trump every day the man was in office. …

"To be sure, there was plenty of praise for Trump … But in interviews with 15 people at the conference, all of whom voted for Trump, none said they hoped the former president would run again. … 'I am interested in who comes next,' said 58-year-old CHERYL PRALL. … [F]or MARY BLOOM, a 55-year-old homeschooling parent who attended Friday's event and believes some of Trump's claims about the 2020 election, 'It is what it is and we all need to move on to the next election.'"

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BIDEN'S SATURDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule.

HARRIS' SATURDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

PLAYBOOK READS

Anti-Olympics protesters are pictured. | Getty Images

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Protesters in Tokyo demonstrate Friday against the holding of the Olympics, which kick off next week. | Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

CONGRESS

The read of the day on the Congress front comes, as it often does, from our Senate ace Burgess Everett, who tag-teams with White House reporter Laura Barrón-López to break down BERNIE SANDERS' sneaky political play this week. "Sanders gave Washington whiplash this week — and it was all part of his plan. Barely 24 hours after the Vermont senator publicly rejected a $3.5 trillion spending deal following a Monday meeting with President Joe Biden, he turned around to tout it as the most transformational policy proposal in nearly 100 years.

"The shift in tone was a tactic Sanders used to coax moderate Democrats into going far higher than they might have otherwise felt comfortable. After he had insisted on shooting for the moon with a $6 trillion budget proposal, $3.5 trillion suddenly looked pretty reasonable. The episode revealed a conciliatory side to the liberal icon often depicted by the media and Republicans as wild-eyed and well to the left of his party."

FETED BY THE COMPETITION — "Sen. Joe Manchin, key Democratic holdout on federal voting protections, coming to Texas for fundraiser hosted by several GOP donors," by Texas Tribune's Abby Livingston and Carla Astudillo: "West Virginia Sen. JOE MANCHIN — a key Democratic holdout over efforts to pass federal voting rights legislation — is expected to head to Texas on Friday for a fundraiser with a host committee that includes several wealthy Republican donors.

"The host committee includes titans of the Texas oil and gas industry — many of whom donate almost exclusively to Republicans. But there is a prominent Democrat included among the hosts: former Houston Mayor BILL WHITE. White was the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor, and declined to comment on this story. All of the other hosts could not immediately be reached for comment."

ALL POLITICS

A pair of in-house 2022 stories keyed off the latest fundraising reports has very good news for House Republicans and somewhat encouraging news for Senate Democrats:

Ally Mutnick: "House Republicans spent the last four years drowning under an avalanche of Democratic campaign cash. Now they're staging a fundraising comeback — just in time for a run at the majority. At least 49 Democrats and 43 Republicans each raised more than $500,000 in the second quarter of 2021 — a fairly even split — according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance reports filed this week. That's a stark contrast with the second quarter of 2019, when roughly 50 Democratic candidates cleared that threshold, but only some 30 Republicans reached that mark."

James Arkin: "Democrats shattered fundraising records in 2020 to narrowly win their fragile 50-50 Senate majority, and so far they're keeping up the momentum in the fight to hold onto it.

The four most vulnerable Democratic incumbents — Sens. MARK KELLY in Arizona, RAPHAEL WARNOCK in Georgia, CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO in Nevada and MAGGIE HASSAN in New Hampshire — all increased their fundraising pace in the second quarter of this year. The incumbent senators stretched their early cash advantages while the Republican primaries to face them are still forming."

PRIORITIES — "Caitlyn Jenner Reportedly Pauses Her Governor Campaign to Film Celebrity Big Brother in Australia," by Vanity Fair's Emily Kirkpatrick: "California's special election to recall current governor GAVIN NEWSOM is just two months away, but CAITLYN JENNER apparently has no qualms with putting her gubernatorial campaign on pause in order to shoot another season of reality television.

"The former Olympian landed in Sydney, Australia, this week, according to local Adelaide tabloid The Advertiser, where she will now have to quarantine for two weeks before filming for the new season of Celebrity Big Brother begins. While the show has yet to confirm Jenner's casting on the program, according to the outlet she is expected to be paid roughly $372,500 for the appearance."

AP DEEP DIVE — "Few AZ voter fraud cases, discrediting Trump's claims," by Bob Christie and Christina Cassidy: "An Associated Press investigation found 182 cases where problems were clear enough that officials referred them to investigators for further review. So far, only four cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. No one has been convicted. No person's vote was counted twice.

"While it's possible more cases could emerge, the numbers illustrate the implausibility of Trump's claims that fraud and irregularities in Arizona cost him the state's electorate votes. In final, certified and audited results, Biden won 10,400 more votes than Trump out of 3.4 million cast."

CRAZY STORY — "'Rogue' U.S. Agency Used Racial Profiling to Investigate Commerce Dept. Employees, Report Says," by NYT's Catie Edmondson: "An obscure federal office operated for more than a decade as an 'unaccountable police force' inside the Commerce Department, using extreme and unauthorized tactics."

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CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:

— "One by One, My Friends Were Sent to the Camps," by Tahir Hamut Izgil for The Atlantic: "If you took an Uber in Washington, D.C., a couple of years ago, there was a chance your driver was one of the greatest living Uyghur poets. Tahir Hamut Izgil arrived with his family in the United States in 2017, fleeing the Chinese government's merciless persecution of his people. … The following articles are Tahir's firsthand account of one of the world's most urgent humanitarian crises, and of one family's survival."

— "On Witness And Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed By Pandemic," by Jesmyn Ward for Vanity Fair: "The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief."

— "What Thurgood Marshall Taught Me," by Stephen L. Carter for NYT Mag: "He became the first Black Supreme Court justice, and the stories he told his clerks — like me — revealed how he helped break down America's color line."

— "Merrick Garland's Moderation to Excess," by Ankush Khardori for the New York Review of Books: "As attorney general, he is the United States' top law enforcement officer. But is he enforcing enough?"

— "How Washington Mystics Point Guard Natasha Cloud Became the WNBA's Unofficial Minister of Social Justice," by Mike Wise for Washingtonian: "The making of an activist athlete—and her turbulent year navigating court crises, a political rift within her own family, and her new role as spiritual leader of the Mystics team."

— "Trey Mancini's Remarkable Return," by ESPN Mag's Kevin Van Valkenburg: "The Orioles first baseman and Home Run Derby invitee is the most magical story of the 2021 season — just by being part of it at all."

— "Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money," by Gloria Liu for Outside: "It's not just the gear purchases — it's how we think about the future. Here's the Outside guide to getting your financial $hit together, no selling out required."

— From the archives: "Invisible Child," by NYT's Andrea Elliott, Dec. 9, 2013: "Girl in the Shadows: Dasani's Homeless Life."

SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.

PLAYBOOKERS

SPORTS BLINK — NBC Olympics is installing a set of life-sized Olympic Rings on the National Mall as part of a cross-country tour. They'll be open to the public Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the Tokyo opening ceremony Friday.

SPOTTED at a party Friday night hosted by Matt Latimer, Keith Urbahn and Phil Mattingly near the Southwest Waterfront celebrating Mike Bender's new book, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election" ($18.43 on Amazon, which notes that it's "temporarily out of stock" — Bender told the crowd the publisher expected the first printing to sell out this weekend): Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey, Jake Sherman, Catherine Lucey, Sabrina Siddiqui, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Seung Min Kim, Jim Acosta, Steve Holland, Meridith McGraw, Jeff Mason, Bob King, Dave Clarke, Byron Tau, Daniel Halper, Eli Stokols, Daniel Lippman, Ben Ginsberg, Tyler Pager, Sopan Deb and Wesley Dietrich, Jonathan Martin and Betsy Fischer Martin, Tim Mak, Naftali Bendavid, Rory Cooper, Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson, Sadie Gurman, Alexa Corse, Robin Sproul, Scott Mulhauser and Kara Carscaden, and Lachlan Markay.

SPOTTED at the Women's Congressional Staff Foundation's annual reception and awards ceremony Thursday night: Congressional Champion awardee Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio); Leadership Impact awardees Kelle Strickland and Nandini Narayan; Brittany Martinez, Wisconsin State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Alicia Hennie, Audrey Wheeler, Chanelle Hardy, Eleanor Kerr, Francesca McCrary, Jane Lucas, Katrina Velasquez, Kristina Dunklin, Liz Sears Smith, Maddie Schumacher, Myriah Jordan, Sarah Corcoran and Thomas Phillips.

EMBASSY SUITES — "Tom Udall nominated as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand," Albuquerque Journal

STAFFING UP — In addition to Udall, the White House announced several other nominations: Laurie Locascio as undersecretary of Commerce for standards and technology, Andrew Hunter as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, James Rodriguez as assistant secretary of Labor for veterans employment and training, Caryn McClelland as ambassador to Brunei, Michael Murphy as ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Howard Van Vranken as ambassador to Botswana.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Robert Howard is now an account director at Sunshine Sachs. He most recently was senior comms adviser at the North Carolina Democratic Party.

TRANSITIONS — Luis Miranda has been appointed assistant commissioner for public affairs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He most recently was director of comms and politics at Alloy, and is a DNC and Obama White House alum. … Brian Hale has been named VP for global market development and public-private partnerships at risk management firm QOMPLX. He most recently was assistant director of the FBI's Office of Public Affairs, and is an ODNI and ABC News alum. ... Former Rep. Mike Barnes (D-Md.) has been appointed the new board chair of the Office of Congressional Ethics.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Fresh off her final White House visit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel … Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) … CNBC's Kayla Tausche … Kathy "Coach" Kemper … Emma Loop … Morning Consult's Kyle Dropp … Ben Shannon … Katherine Smith … Seth Bringman … Reuters' Mike Stone … POLITICO's Jessica Cuellar, Collin Greene, David Hackney, Samantha Garretto and Alba Perez Rosales … Opal Vadhan … Ben Deutsch … Roz Leighton … NBC's Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan … Insider's Josh Barro … WaPo's Katie Zezima … Jon Monger … Chris Buki … Chris Berardi … R. Kevin Ryan … Matt Berger of Hillel International … former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios … Curt Mills … Caitlin Klevorick … Michael Presutti … Katherine Beck … DOT's Dani Simons … Jonathan Lee … Marnie Funk … Microsoft's John Frank … Lee Wolosky of Jenner & Block … Barbara Boland … Bloomberg's Caitlin O'Connell Fitchette … Clout Public Affairs' Catherine Frazier … Susan Kennedy … Dan Comstock

THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):

CNN	"State of the Union": Surgeon General Vivek Murthy … Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) … Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
FOX	"Fox News Sunday": Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) … Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Panel: Karl Rove, Susan Page and Harold Ford Jr. Power Player: Masih Alinejad.
MSNBC	"The Sunday Show": Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) … Cora Masters Barry … Texas state Rep. James Talarico … House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) … Michael Wolff … Robin DiAngelo … Joe Walsh.
Gray TV	"Full Court Press": NASA Administrator Bill Nelson … Mae Jemison.
CBS	"Face the Nation": Springfield, Mo., Mayor Ken McClure … Scott Gottlieb … Adm. Michael Mullen … Chris Krebs … David Becker … Jill Schlesinger … new polling with Anthony Salvanto.
CNN	"Inside Politics": Panel: Rachael Bade, Toluse Olorunnipa, Jackie Kucinich, Tamara Keith and Alice Stewart.
ABC	"This Week": Panel: Rick Klein, Julie Pace and Michel Martin.

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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