| | | | | |  | | By Tyler Weyant | Presented by eBay | | 
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) (C) poses with Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) (R) as they attend President Joe Biden's signing ceremony for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on the South Lawn at the White House. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | MAY NOT BE BY CHOICE — It was not as dramatic as the time he told The Joker, "We're not intimidated by thugs," but Sen. Patrick Leahy announced today that he's retiring from the body he has spent more than four decades in. Leahy is likely to be replaced by a Democrat, but there are going to be more than a few new faces in the Senate after the 2022 midterms, and his retirement is a good occasion to talk about why Democrats are worried about losing their majority. To assess the state of the race right now, Nightly talked to Morning Score author and campaigns reporter Stephanie Murray. This conversation has been edited. Let's start with Vermont, after Leahy's retirement. Realistically, is this a state where Republicans have a chance of a competitive race? It's hard to see that happening. One of my favorite Vermont facts is that Leahy is actually the only Democrat ever elected to the Senate from the Green Mountain State. But in a state where President Joe Biden won by about 35 points last year, it's hard to see him being the last. If popular moderate Republican Gov. Phil Scott launched a Senate campaign, the calculus might have been different. But Scott has already reiterated he is not interested in running for the seat. What does the rest of the map look like? What states should we really be keeping an eye on as we head into 2022? The battlegrounds with really contentious Republican primary races. The political environment is good for the GOP, but they've got some ugly contests coming down the road. The states where former President Donald Trump has endorsed, like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, will be a test of his power in the party. We won't have to wait that long, either — North Carolina's primary is coming up in March. Alaska is a little different because it has open primaries, but I think the contest between GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka will be another one to watch. And like everyone else, I'm waiting to see who Trump will endorse in the jam-packed primaries in Ohio and Missouri. Do you expect a consistent pattern for how these races might go, or will it be more of a state-to-state set of circumstances? That's the big question. So much of our politics has become nationalized, and historically the midterms are a referendum on the party in power. Biden's sinking approval rating had a big impact in Virginia earlier this month. But what about a referendum on the ex-president? Trump's endorsement hasn't exactly cleared the field in a lot of these Senate races. A recent conservative Club for Growth poll in North Carolina showed former Gov. Pat McCrory slightly ahead of Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd. I think there's some concern that in a general election in a battleground state, being tightly linked to Trump could be a negative thing. Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin navigated that challenge this year, embracing Trump in the primary and then keeping him at a distance to get through November.
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaks with reporters after attending a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | Are there retirement or reelection announcements that could alter the '22 map? There are only two senators left on retirement watch, both Republicans: Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Thune of South Dakota. Biden flipped Wisconsin in 2020 by less than a percentage point, so the Senate race there is bound to be contentious. Johnson previously pledged to serve only two terms. Now that he's nearing the end of his second term, Johnson has changed his tune and says he'll decide whether to seek another term in the next several weeks. In the meantime, a dozen Democrats are running in the Wisconsin Senate primary. Our pals at AdImpact have already tracked $1.45 million in TV ad spending by Democrat Alex Lasry, a self-funder whose family owns the Milwaukee Bucks. So Bucks fans can expect to see a little bit more of their owner during timeouts of games on TV? He's certainly leaning into the Bucks connection. Here's a recent ad from Lasry's campaign that features footage from the 2021 NBA championship. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. While Biden and Xi react to each other's Zoom backgrounds, read Phelim Kine's preview of the "don't call it a summit" virtual meeting. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author at tweyant@politico.com, or on Twitter at @tweyant.
| | A message from eBay: Americans casually selling things online are just trying to make ends meet and new tax regulations could make it even harder. Starting in 2022, a single transaction over $600 – the new reporting threshold – could land small-time sellers with a 1099-K tax form. eBay believes Americans shouldn't receive unnecessary and confusing tax forms for selling used or pre-owned goods. Learn more about eBay's position on raising the 1099-K threshold and lifting the burden on Americans. | | | | | | — 'Irresponsible act': U.S. raps Russia after missile strike on its own satellite: The United States today confirmed that a Russian anti-satellite missile test was responsible for causing a debris field in space that forced astronauts aboard the International Space Station to temporarily seek shelter. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that Russia had "recklessly conducted a destructive satellite test of a direct ascent anti-satellite missile against one of its own satellites." (This comes as the White House is facing difficult decisions on multiple other fronts with Moscow.)
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Former Trump administration White House adviser Steve Bannon and attorney David Schoen speak to the press as they leave federal court in Washington. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | — Bannon surrenders to FBI: Steve Bannon, the longtime Trump ally, surrendered to the FBI this morning following his indictment on contempt of Congress charges . The former White House adviser and right-wing media personality spent about four hours in custody before being released on his own recognizance by a judge at a court hearing this afternoon. — Beto O'Rourke joins Texas governor's race: In a video on social media, the former congressman from El Paso, who had for months been laying groundwork for a campaign , cast the incumbent Republican governor, Greg Abbott, as a divisive politician focused on "extremist policies" surrounding gun rights, abortion and schools.
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT: Join POLITICO's Sustainability Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 16 and hear leading voices from Washington, state houses, city halls, civil society and corporate America discuss the most viable policy and political solutions that balance economic, environmental and social interests. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | — Imprisoned U.S. journalist released in Myanmar: Secretary of State Antony Blinken today welcomed the release of American journalist Danny Fenster from prison in Myanmar , where he had been detained for more than five months and was recently sentenced to 11 years behind bars. In a statement, Blinken commended the work of U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar Tom Vajda, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for helping secure Fenster's release. — Pentagon: Oklahoma Guard must comply with vaccine mandate: The Pentagon's top spokesperson insisted today that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to require National Guard members to get vaccinated against Covid-19, despite new resistance from Oklahoma's highest-ranking military official. "It is a lawful order for National Guardsmen to receive the Covid vaccine. It is a lawful order," Defense Department press secretary John Kirby told reporters at a news briefing. — Alex Jones liable for defamation in Sandy Hook 'hoax' case: A Connecticut judge found Infowars host Alex Jones liable by default today in a defamation lawsuit brought by parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over the conspiracy theorist's claims that the massacre was a hoax. The ruling by the judge, who cited Jones' refusal to abide by court rulings or turn over evidence, means a jury will determine how much in damages Jones should pay to the families.
| | | | A message from eBay:   | | | | | | POSSIBLE DE-ESCALATION — Belarus and its state-owned airline moved today to de-escalate a migrant standoff at the Polish border just as the EU moved forward on new sanctions against the country, Cory Bennett writes. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said earlier today he was working to repatriate thousands of migrants now camped in freezing temperatures at the country's Polish border. Belarus state airline Belavia also announced it would stop accepting travelers via Dubai from a number of Middle Eastern countries, and the Iraqi government said it was organizing a "voluntary" repatriation flight for its stranded citizens. Taken together, the steps appear designed to defuse a potential powderkeg between Belarus and the EU — although the situation is far from resolved. Even as Lukashenko said "active work is underway" to send migrants to their home country, he added a key caveat: "Nobody wants to go back." And even if Belavia stops accepting travelers from the countries in question — the airline singled out Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan — many other airlines, including several Russian operators, fly into Minsk.
| | | | WOMEN RULE: JOIN US WEDNESDAY FOR A TALK ABOUT THE NEW WORLD OF WORK: The way women work, including what is expected and demanded from their workplaces, has been upended. How should businesses, governments, and workers take advantage of this opportunity to rethink what wasn't working and strengthen working environments for women moving forward? Join the Women Rule community to discuss with leading women and explore how they are seizing the moment. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 'MOMMY TRACKED TO THE BILLIONTH DEGREE' — Take a spin through "future of work" articles on the internet, and you'll find many calling the shift to hybrid work a positive for women, Emily Peck writes for POLITICO Magazine . One survey, from LinkedIn, found women were 26 percent more likely than men to apply to remote jobs. And it's easy to see why: Women are disproportionately burdened with caregiving responsibilities, either for children or elderly relatives. Since the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered schools and other childcare facilities, women have found it increasingly difficult to juggle those responsibilities with work, which — along with punishing job losses in sectors where women make up the majority of workers — has caused an exodus of women from the workforce. Women have lost 2.4 million jobs since February 2020, according to an analysis from the National Women's Law Center. And female participation in the workforce is hovering at a level last seen in the 1980s. If more companies let women work from home several days a week, helping them better juggle work and family, isn't that a good thing? Maybe not. As this long-term hybrid future comes into view, a group of academics, executives, gender-equality advocates and women themselves are increasingly worried that it might start to harden around new norms that hurt women rather than help them. Their fear is that women will take advantage of the hybrid benefit more than men, choosing to work more days at home, while companies subtly — or not so subtly — continue to favor employees who come into the office more often. Even if they say they won't, employers will use frequent time with bosses and long hours in-person as the basis for advancing. Less formally, workers not in the office might miss impromptu conversations that lead to new opportunities. Over time, so-called hybrid friendly companies will develop two-tier workplaces — with the lowest tier populated mostly by women.
| | A message from eBay: Americans throughout the country turn to online marketplaces to sell used personal items to make ends meet and keep things out of landfills. A new law passed earlier this year will require millions of them to receive confusing and burdensome tax forms for their sales online, even when they don't owe taxes because they're selling used goods. eBay believes the new low reporting threshold will cause confusion and over-reporting of non-taxable income for millions of Americans already struggling as a result of the pandemic. Congress should protect consumers and increase the reporting threshold for platforms enabling consumer sales of goods. Learn more about eBay's position on raising the 1099-K threshold and lifting the burden on Americans. | | | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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