BUZZER BEATER: It's game time for Democrats, who are entering their most consequential stretch of legislating since the passage of Obamacare. But major decisions still have yet to be made, as Democrats try to land on the size and scope of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda. The two critical months of July and August are ahead, when Democrats try to execute their so-called "two-track" strategy of enacting Biden's jobs and families plans via twin bills — one with bipartisan support on "hard" infrastructure and another Dem-led bill that would address climate change, increase child care and raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy. As Burgess and Sarah write: "Work on both items is nearing a climax, with senators in both parties drafting that centrist bill for a July Senate vote and the Senate's 50 Democrats haggling over how big to go in their own party-line endeavor. Some House moderates are urging party leaders to focus squarely on the bipartisan bill, while many liberals remain skeptical it will happen at all — and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has threatened to sideline it without an accompanying Democratic package. A failed bipartisan result would force Democrats to write one huge spending bill marrying all their priorities." In other words, Dems have some big decisions to make. They could reshape the federal government for years to come. But Dems only have slim majorities in both chambers to pull off the — as Ciara would put it — one-two-step. "If you add the two plans together, it would be the biggest bill in the history of the country," said House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.). "There's no way it's going to be easy." More here from Burgess and Sarah: https://politi.co/3hPCW4V WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS: Biden is defending his decision to withdraw the last lick of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, denying that the Taliban would eventually topple the U.S.-backed government in Kabul — an outcome national security officials say is inevitable. Biden instead is throwing his support behind Afghan leaders as he seeks to remove the country from the nation's longest war by the end of the month. "The Afghan government and leadership has to come together. They clearly have the capacity to sustain the government in place," Biden said. "The question is, will they generate the kind of cohesion to do it?" "It's not a question of whether they have the capacity," he continued. "They have the capacity. They have the forces. They have the equipment. The question is, will they do it?" This is a far different position from Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, who recently warned in a recent news conference that civil war in the country is possible "if it continues on the trajectory it is on." And the president is also denying reports of a U.S. intelligence assessment, which says the government in Kabul could be toppled in as little as six months after the withdrawal. More here from Andrew and our Quint Forgey: https://politi.co/2T3vBXi Related: Johnson confirms most British troops have left Afghanistan, the AP reports: https://politi.co/3AEKssd | Taliban capture key Afghanistan-Iran border crossing, the BBC reports: https://bbc.in/3e0mP3u FIRST IN HUDDLE: A group is pressuring three GOP senators to support efforts to expand access to paid leave, affordable childcare, and long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities with a new six-figure television and digital ad campaign. Led by the #CareCantWait coalition, they are targeting GOP Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Pat Toomey (Penn.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) by running ads in their respective states. The first ads ran yesterday. Paid for by Care in Action on behalf of the coalition, it's their second round of ads seeking to garner support for the Biden administration's American Jobs and Families Plan. Here is one of the ads, which ran in Wisconsin: https://bit.ly/2UA2wTu |
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