| | | | | | | Presented By Lyft | | | | Axios Sneak Peek | | By Alayna Treene and Hans Nichols ·Jul 15, 2021 | | Welcome back to Sneak. A German chancellor who's worked with four U.S. presidents paid her final visit to Washington. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,682 words ... 6 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Gaetz reaches for Trump lifeline |  | | | Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | | The campaign committee for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has enlisted a crew of prominent Trumpworld figures as he seeks re-election amid scandal and possible legal jeopardy, records reviewed by Axios' Lachlan Markay show. Why it matters: For a Republican in a party still dominated by the former president, little conduct could surpass fealty to Donald Trump in the minds of GOP voters. Newly released financial records show Gaetz, a steadfast ally of the former president, is leaning into that reputation amid scrutiny of his personal life. What's new: The Gaetz campaign committee's second-quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission shows sizable payments to a number of Trumpworld luminaries. - Former Trump campaign adviser and surrogate Harlan Hill is by far Gaetz's largest vendor. His firm, the Logan Circle Group, was paid about $737,000 in Q2, itemized as "advertising" and "strategic campaign consulting."
- Gaetz's third-largest vendor was a consulting firm affiliated with Kash Patel, a former Trump Pentagon aide. The campaign's $120,000 in fundraising consulting payments to the firm, Trishul LLC, listed a D.C. address owned by Patel.
That's not all. - Gaetz's campaign has paid $20,000 this year to a Florida consulting firm called Drake Ventures LLC, which is run by Trump operative Roger Stone. The Justice Department recently accused Stone and his wife of using the company as a vehicle to evade taxes.
- The campaign also paid a little over $6,000 to a security company called Viking Executive Protection.
- It's the Florida division of the Colorado Security Agency, which ran security at Trump campaign rallies. CSA's vice president of business development is the former security supervisor at Trump's D.C. hotel.
What they're saying: Asked about Stone's and Patel's work for the campaign, Hill sent a statement he requested be printed in full. - "Four months into a fake scandal cooked up by a corporate media who should be — and will be — apologizing for their conduct towards Rep Gaetz, they are now 'reporting' on financial expenses incurred as a result of their own smear campaigns. If we were them, we'd be worried about our own financial liabilities having repeatedly libelled (sic) and lied."
The big picture: Gaetz has employed that roster of Trump-adjacent companies and individuals while seeking re-election amid scrutiny of his ties to an admitted child sex trafficker. - The congressman's onetime associate, former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, has pleaded guilty to six criminal counts and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
- The investigation is said to be looking into Gaetz's conduct, as well as larger allegations of corruption in central Florida political circles.
- Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and alleged that a former Justice Department official attempted to extort him and his father with baseless allegations of criminal conduct.
|     | | | | | | 2. Swing voters fear crime |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Some U.S. swing voters are deeply worried about crime and violence — but so far aren't buying the blame-casting by Republicans or Democrats, Axios' Sarah Mucha writes. Why it matters: That key takeaway from our latest Engagious/Schlesinger focus groups shows how ripe for weaponizing the issue of rising national crime rates could be in the midterm elections — but how those efforts could flop if voters don't see the critiques as authentic. - Eight out of 11 swing voters said, in their view, neither party is taking crime seriously.
How it works: Tuesday night's two online focus groups comprised 11 adults who switched from voting for Donald Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020, and who live in the most competitive 2020 swing states. - While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters in crucial states are thinking and talking about current events.
The big picture: Crime is poised as a flashpoint in upcoming elections. Murder rates have been trending up in cities large and small, from Washington to Louisville, Kentucky, New York to Oakland, California, and Kansas City, Missouri, to Atlanta. - Republicans are painting President Biden as weak and blaming Democrats for sympathizing with defund-the-police messaging.
- Democrats say it's Republicans who don't care about the police because they voted against Biden's stimulus plan, which poured billions of dollars into local police departments. Republicans also have sought to downplay the urgency around investigating the deadly Jan. 6 rioting at the Capitol.
- Only one of the 11 participants said they found the claim being made by Republicans to be believable — and only one was convinced by the Democrats' argument.
What they're saying: "I think it's just politics and election-year rhetoric, but I don't see it being real," said Daniel A., 48, from Texas. - Engagious president Rich Thau, who moderated the focus groups, said voters believe "partisan finger-pointing on crime resembles two kids arguing in the back seat of a car; neither side persuasively casts blame."
While these swing voters had strong opinions about rising crime, they weren't as focused on political issues happening in the national discourse. - Just two people were aware a group of senators had reached a bipartisan infrastructure compromise.
- Only one person had heard of J.D. Vance, a Republican running for Senate in Ohio, despite his being the focus of coverage over his late courtship of Trump supporters and his comments opposing "woke" capitalism.
Keep reading. | | | | | | | | 3. Scoop: Conservatives write own China bill |  | | | Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering meet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in May. Photo: Gao Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images | | | | The largest bloc of House conservatives has drafted a 300-page counterproposal to the Senate's sprawling bipartisan China bill, planning to circulate it to members tomorrow, Axios' Alayna Treene has learned. Why it matters: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) won approval for his China bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, with the support of 18 Republicans last month. While the GOP doesn't control the House, the proposal offers a way to peel away Republican support for Schumer's bill and attract support from House members opposing it. - Both parties largely agree on the urgency of ensuring the U.S. outcompetes China on the world stage — including by revitalizing U.S. manufacturing and research, and cracking down on Beijing's economic abuses.
- The bipartisan legislation has been hailed as a symbol of congressional cooperation.
Driving the news: The counterproposal is being drafted by the Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes 154 House Republicans. - The group calls its measure "the most serious and comprehensive effort this Congress to take on the threat of China," according to a copy of the draft outline obtained by Axios.
- The RSC proposal, which remains untitled, would cost $1 billion — far less than the $200 billion-plus price tag for the Senate's bill.
Details: The measure builds off of a series of proposals put forth by conservatives in both parties and is broken into 11 sections: - Countering China's Malign Influence
- China's Role in COVID-19
- Medical Supply Chains
- Investment, Research and Development
- Education
- Democracy, Human Rights and Taiwan
- Defense
- Protection of Intellectual Property
- Financial Services
- Rescinding State and Local Bailout Funds
- National Security Authorizations
State of play: The group will blast out the eight-page outline Friday and begin soliciting feedback, with the goal of introducing a final version in the coming weeks, said an aide to Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chairman of the RSC. Be smart: The drafting of a counterproposal by the RSC underscores the group's belief that other legislative efforts are too expensive and don't do enough to counter China. | | | | | | | | A message from Lyft | | Drivers want flexibility – so maintaining independence is essential | | |  | | | | Flexibility is central to why drivers want to maintain their independence. - For full-time students – 68% say flexibility is crucial because it allows them to drive hours that do not conflict with their classes.
Learn more in Lyft's Economic Impact Report. | | | | | | 4. Schumer's bomb |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dropped a bomb on lawmakers this morning when he outlined an ambitious timeline propelling the bipartisan infrastructure proposal toward floor action next week, Alayna also writes. Why it matters: The senators involved have their work cut out for them. There's still a lot of concern about how to pay for the $1 trillion bill, which is key to shoring up Republican support for the measure. - The group of 10 negotiators huddled for hours this afternoon in a room on the first floor of the Capitol, working to resolve the remaining — and most controversial — sticking points.
- White House officials Steve Ricchetti, Brian Deese and Louisa Terrell joined them roughly an hour in, until they eventually broke and the senators flew home for the weekend.
- The group said it plans to continue negotiating throughout the weekend, with the goal of producing legislative text by the time the Senate returns on Monday.
What they're saying: "The good news is is that we are all still talking. The bad news is we've got a pretty tight timeframe," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters. Between the lines: Axios reported early today that a prominent pay-for initially in the bipartisan framework — a $40 billion infusion to help the Internal Revenue Service with tax enforcement — is being re-thought. - Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) confirmed the group is now discussing potential alternatives to the IRS provision.
- If it's nixed, it's a huge nod to conservatives, many of whom have seen this as the most controversial aspect of a bipartisan bill.
- Sources familiar with the meeting say it may not be dropped in its entirety but peeled back.
Worth noting: Even if the group completes drafting the bill this weekend, it will take days for the Congressional Budget Office to score it — something multiple senators will need before ultimately weighing in. - It also will take time for the group to sell their colleagues on its key components.
- However, next week's votes are, for now, just procedural — formally kicking off the process to pass the package.
- A final vote on the bill would not come until next Thursday at the earliest.
Keep reading. | | | | | | | | 5. Pic du jour |  | | | Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images | | | | President Biden welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Oval Office. - Later, she was the guest of honor at a White House dinner also attended by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and former Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Colin Powell.
- The second-longest serving chancellor (after Helmut Kohl) is not seeking re-election in September.
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