🤫 Hostage response

Plus: School board group punished | Monday, December 06, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Dec 06, 2021 Welcome back to Sneak. 📅 Join Axios' Mike Allen and Ben Geman tomorrow at 12:30pm ET for a virtual event about the infrastructure bill's sweeping sustainability provisions, as well plans to implement them. Guests include Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Register here. Smart Brevity™ count: 930 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Scoop - Inside Jake Sullivan's hostage-family call Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images   National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke last week with relatives of U.S. hostages and others wrongfully detained abroad, after more than two dozen families expressed frustration about their inability to get a meeting with him or President Biden, Axios' Zachary Basu has learned. Why it matters: Participants on the video call, which began at 7pm ET Friday and lasted more than an hour, told Axios they didn't get satisfactory answers to many of their questions. Nonetheless, they were encouraged by Sullivan's commitment to follow up and pledge to be personally available to them and others going forward. Sullivan said he'd been unaware they were seeking meetings with him, participants said. The call on Dec. 3 came about five weeks after 26 families signed an open letter expressing their frustrations — and about a week after Axios reported several advocates saw Sullivan as the main obstacle to more direct engagement with the president. What they're saying: Elizabeth Whelan, whose brother Paul Whelan has been detained in Russia since 2018, told Axios Sullivan's engagement went a long way toward addressing her frustrations with the administration's response. "I definitely feel that progress was made," she said. The engagement "really speaks to a certain amount of bravery. ...It can't be easy to be the recipient of so much emotion and passion when you're trying to deal with these issues from a larger viewpoint of national security." Keep reading.     2. First look: Pence hitting Biden in N.H. on gas, price hikes Photo: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images   Former Vice President Mike Pence is heading to New Hampshire on Wednesday to rail against Biden's tax-and-spending agenda, with a loaded schedule akin to a presidential campaign, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned. Why it matters: With four events, Pence's agenda alone will make clear he isn't waiting on a decision from former President Trump about his own presidential intentions. Pence is looking to position himself to be his party's nominee in 2024. "The effects of Joe Biden's reckless tax-and-spend agenda are a gut punch to millions of Americans looking to fill up their tank, feed their family or finish their Christmas shopping," Pence told Axios in an interview. "Nowhere has felt this radical attack on American workers more than New Hampshire." "While Republicans have offered nothing but extremism and obstruction, President Biden's Build Back Better agenda will continue to create jobs, lower costs and cut taxes for working families while making corporations pay their fair share," said Daniel Wessel, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "The record speaks for itself." Go deeper: Pence made a point this year to visit all four early voting states, making stops in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. He also visited New Hampshire in June. In addition, a political group founded by his former chief of staff, Marc Short, has been flooding the airwaves with ads attacking Biden's proposals. Keep reading.     3. School board group punished Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The nation's leading school board advocacy group is facing a critical loss of funding and membership after sending a letter comparing parent protests and threats to domestic terrorism, Axios' Stef Kight and Lachlan Markay report. Why it matters: The National School Boards Association has since apologized, but the fallout could be seven figures in annual funding. At least 17 state affiliates have severed ties with the group — and some are even considering establishing a competitor. The 17 state affiliates accounted for more than 40% of annual dues paid to NSBA by its state association members in 2019, according to Axios' analysis of documents detailing those contributions. The big picture: Officials fear upheaval at the organization — the nation's leading trade group representing U.S. public schools — will handicap it just as national debates over school curricula and COVID-19 mitigation measures dominate the political conversation. The controversy "has weakened a national voice for public education," wrote Steve Gallon III, a Miami-Dade County school board member and chair of NSBA's Council of Urban Boards of Education, in an email to NSBA leadership last month. Alabama's school board association let its membership expire "due to long-standing concerns with the organization's governance," executive director Sally Smith told Axios in a statement. Keep reading.     A message from Facebook Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations, including Section 230     Aaron is one of 40,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook. Hear more from Aaron on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies.     4. Congress hunts for loopholes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer returned to his office today. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images   The scramble in Congress to pass the National Defense Authorization Act is being complicated by an effort to tie it to a needed hike in the federal debt limit, Axios' Alayna Treene reports. Why it matters: The House and Senate are rapidly coming up against a series of deadlines they must address before the end of the year — or risk disrupting crucial military funding and upending the economy. Congressional leaders are now hoping they can knock out both "must-pass" priorities in one, complex swoop. Leaders in both chambers spent the weekend negotiating several creative ways to circumvent congressional speed blocks to complete their work before their Christmas recess. What we're hearing: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have discussed a series of options for expediting passage of both the NDAA and the debt-ceiling hike they hope the House will accept. The options, according to a senior House Democratic aide: House passes the NDAA agreement and then separately passes a measure setting up a one-time, fast-track process for the Senate to pass the debt ceiling via simple majority. Combine the bills and pass them as one package in both chambers. The House passes the bills separately but approves a rule governing floor debate for the NDAA that would combine the two measures for consideration in the Senate. Keep reading.     5. Pic du jour: Candy crown Photos: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images   The Statue of Freedom is seen atop a gingerbread replica of the U.S. Capitol. It was rolled into the building — sans statue — under the supervision of Fred Johnson (left), the House executive chef.     A message from Facebook Facebook's industry-leading investments are stopping bad actors     We've invested $13 billion in teams and technology over the last 5 years to enhance safety. It's working: In just the past few months, we took down 1.7 billion fake accounts to stop bad actors from doing harm. But there's more to do. Learn more about how we're working to help you connect safely.   📬 Thanks for reading. A reminder your family, friends and colleagues can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. 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