News: What keeps a Supreme Court sherpa up at night

Friday, February 4, 2022

What keeps a Supreme Court sherpa up at night

Feb 04, 2022

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By Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade

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DRIVING THE DAY

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: STEPHANIE CUTTER — The latest Playbook Deep Dive podcast is now live. This week, we sat down with the longtime Democratic strategist at the Silver Brasserie diner in Cathedral Heights (her choice) and discussed what it's like to be a Supreme Court nominee's "sherpa" — a role she played in the Obama administration for now-Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR.

Cutter, who might be the Forrest Gump of the modern Democratic Party, also shares her insider experiences working for MARIO CUOMO, BILL CLINTON, TED KENNEDY, JOHN KERRY, HARRY REID, BARACK and MICHELLE OBAMA, and JOE and JILL BIDEN. And we get into the weeds on why she believes Biden should ditch the Obama model of SCOTUS nominations and adopt the MITCH MCCONNELL model.

Some highlights:

— Several of the judges on Biden's SCOTUS short list were also on Obama's. "But President Obama had made the decision that he didn't want to … put some of these women up because if it wasn't successful, it would mean they'd never be elevated to the Supreme Court. They wouldn't be chosen again — or [were] unlikely to be chosen again. And these are real stars. They're the future. And, you know, he wanted to preserve that for them."

— On the work that goes into vetting a SCOTUS nominee: "Find out … who their childhood classmates were, who was their first boss. … Be able to tell their life story, know what the vulnerabilities are. Build a plan that inoculates against those vulnerabilities quickly. Know where to organize on the outside."

— Her advice for a nominee when meeting with senators: "You're not supposed to say anything in the meeting on substance. It's just cordial."

— The potential political upside for Biden: "Some Republicans could overshoot this, and you already see some senators talking about how this is a 'quota pick' or an 'affirmative action pick.' … And that's not going to sit well with people, particularly when they meet her. This person is not going to come off as an 'affirmative action pick'; this person is going to come across as the most qualified person for the court, if you just look at the women on the proverbial short list. They can … continue their racist dog whistles on this. But I think most people are not going to have the stomach for it, and it will turn around and bite them."

— On what keeps her awake at night about this process: "Something that we don't know. You know, there's an incredibly competent team running the vetting in the White House, and I'm confident if there is something, they'll find it. But I honestly don't think that these incredible women would be in the positions that they are if there was something. That's what keeps me up at night. But I always think the worst about everything."

— On which of the potential Biden nominees Cutter thinks she could sell without any problems: "I could sell any of them."

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

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JAYAPAL MAKES MOVE TOWARD LEADERSHIP BID — Hill watchers have known for months that Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) wants to move up the ladder. This morning, our Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu have the dish.

— What Jayapal's doing: According to more than a dozen lawmakers, Jayapal has been working the phones to lay the groundwork for a potential leadership run — and has left some with the impression that she could challenge a fellow progressive, Assistant Speaker KATHERINE CLARK (D-Mass.), for a job. She's tapped two allies — Reps. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-Texas) and DAVID SCOTT (D-Ga.) — to help make calls on her behalf.

— How that's different from other Dems: As Sarah and Nicholas write, Jayapal's move stands in stark contrast to the almost-frozen postures of others expected to make plays up the ladder after the midterms. Technically, Speaker NANCY PELOSI, Majority Leader STENY HOYER and Majority Whip JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) have yet to announce whether they plan to stay or vacate their posts next year. Because of that, most Democrats fear overt leadership campaigning would undermine their authority and be considered overstepping.

— Why that's grating on other Dems: Indeed, Jayapal's moves have peeved some of her colleagues, who say it's premature to jockey for leadership while the majority is in jeopardy. But the news is another reminder of the leadership vacuum that likely awaits Democrats next winter if the top three retire, as many expect.

THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT THAT HAS CAPITOL HILL RIVETED — If you work on Capitol Hill, you've probably heard about it: "Dear White Staffers." It's an Instagram account that started as a place where aides of color on the Hill — which is dominated by white lawmakers and staff — could express their frustrations. But it's expanded beyond that to become a go-to hub where anonymous staffers name and shame bad bosses and colleagues, and complain about absurdly long workdays, gender discrimination allegations, salaries so low they rely on food stamps to eat, generally toxic workplace behavior and an endemic lack of diversity.

"The account's unfiltered, unvetted and seemingly endless content has become a must-read for aides in a town always hungry for rumor and gossip — for two very different reasons," our colleagues Katherine Tully-McManus, Nancy Vu, Eleanor Mueller and Ximena Bustillo write. "Some devour the messages as a form of therapy that helps them feel understood while also providing relevant information on offices and bosses to avoid. Others monitor it defensively, worried their office or boss is being anonymously maligned and they'll have a mess to clean up."

It's a reminder of the lack of a strong, centralized human resources department on Capitol Hill. Rather, each office operates as its own mini-fiefdom, setting pay and employment standards. That's not always been to the benefit of staff, who have few places to turn when they have problems.

One note to Hill staffers with a story: You can always call us here at Playbook. We'll protect your identity. Speaking of Hill employment issues …

PELOSI BACKS HILL UNIONIZATION EFFORTS — After Pelosi dodged a question about a potential unionization push by Hill staffers during her weekly press conference, her deputy chief of staff DREW HAMMILL said Pelosi would support such an effort. "We just unionized at the DCCC, and I supported that," she said. ( Anthony Adragna and Katherine Tully-McManus have more on Congress Minutes.)

A unionization push on Capitol Hill would be quite something. Staffers are routinely asked to work long hours with no overtime and menial salaries — and though it's long been considered something of a rite of passage, attitudes are changing and expectations have evolved. That said, we have to wonder how this would play out in a Republican-controlled Congress — and how it would even work, given that each office operates as its own entity. Stay tuned, because this conversation is just starting.

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BIDEN'S FRIDAY:

— 9:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief.

— 10:45 a.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on the January jobs report.

— 2 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks and sign an executive order on project labor agreements at Ironworkers Local 5 in Upper Marlboro, Md., with VP KAMALA HARRIS and Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH also speaking.

— 5:30 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Wilmington, Del., arriving at 6:25 p.m.

Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 11:45 a.m.

THE HOUSE will meet at 9 a.m., with last votes at 3 p.m.

THE SENATE is out.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

The White House is pictured lit up in red, white and blue. | Getty Images

The White House is illuminated in red, white and blue in support of the Team USA Olympians and Paralympians on Thursday, Feb. 3. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

PLAYBOOK READS

ALL POLITICS

RNC DECLARES WAR ON CHENEY — On Thursday, an RNC resolution committee unanimously approved a formal censure of Reps. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) and ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.), who serve on the House committee investigating Jan. 6. The measure — which originally called for their expulsion from the House GOP Conference — is expected to get the full approval of the RNC today, report David Siders and Natalie Allison.

— But it's more serious than censure: WaPo's Josh Dawsey reports that a deal brokered by Chair RONNA MCDANIEL will allow the RNC to financially support HARRIET HAGEMAN in her bid to oust Cheney, potentially paving the way for the national party to "send money, volunteers, data and other things to the Wyoming GOP … which could then send the resources to use against Cheney. McDaniel also declined to say whether she would campaign personally against Cheney. 'No decision has been made,' she said."

— Cheney responded by going straight at DONALD TRUMP: "The leaders of the Republican Party have made themselves willing hostages to a man who admits he tried to overturn a presidential election and suggests he would pardon Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy," she said in a statement Thursday night . "I'm a constitutional conservative and I do not recognize those in my party who have abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump. History will be their judge. I will never stop fighting for our constitutional republic. No matter what."

— Reporting from the RNC's meeting in Utah, NBC's Peter Nicholas and Allan Smith write that "a distinct chasm is emerging between Trump's obsessions and the issues many GOP operatives consider crucial to winning the midterm elections in November. … [T]hey are loath to antagonize Trump and possibly drive off his hard-core followers. Yet in interviews, party officials showed little appetite for organizing the GOP around Trump's grievances."

NO MORE MORENO — Republican businessman BERNIE MORENO ended his Ohio Senate campaign Thursday, citing a recent conversation with Trump in which the two "agreed this race has too many Trump candidates" and that dividing up support among them — other candidates include JOSH MANDEL, J.D. VANCE and JANE TIMKEN — "could cost the MAGA movement a conservative seat." Our Myah Ward notes that "Moreno gave $3.75 million of his own money to his campaign and launched a $4 million television ad spree in December."

REDISTRICTING ROUNDUP — FiveThirtyEight's Nathaniel Rakich delves into the implications of a federal court striking down Alabama's congressional map for insufficient Black representation. As the case goes to the Supreme Court, a wide range of outcomes are possible: If the high court agrees, that could open up similar court challenges to force redrawn maps in Louisiana and South Carolina. On the other hand, the conservative majority could take the opportunity to further weaken the Voting Rights Act.

— New York Gov. KATHY HOCHUL signed new congressional maps into law Thursday, likely increasing the Dem majority in New York's House delegation from 19-8 to 22-4.

— Democratic Kansas Gov. LAURA KELLY vetoed state Republicans' congressional map Thursday over their attempt to break up Democratic Rep. SHARICE DAVIDS' seat. Republicans vowed to override her veto, but it's unclear whether they have enough votes, writes the KC Star's Katie Bernard.

— Quite the role reversal: The Cook Political Report now forecasts that House Democrats are on track for a narrow net gain of seats from redistricting nationwide, amid a cycle that has proven far more favorable to Dems than many expected. (Of course, they'll need to boost their popularity among voters significantly to hold onto the chamber in November.)

THE WHITE HOUSE

BIDEN'S THURSDAY WHIRLWIND — Laura Barrón-López and Christopher Cadelago have the readout on a "triumphant, if not frenetic, 24 hours for the White House — perhaps the most dizzying of his presidency," which included a U.S. raid that resulted in the death of ISIS' top leader, Biden's appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast and a subsequent swing up to NYC to meet with Mayor ERIC ADAMS, speak with law enforcement and reassert his crime bona fides.

"That rapid succession of wildly different events seemed to jolt an administration that has spent most of its time in its first year grappling with a pandemic and its vast impacts," the authors write. "It also seemed to provide a sense of relief, and a feeling inside and out of the White House — however fleeting it may turn out to be — that progress was being made."

TOP-ED — When former Treasury Secretary LARRY SUMMERS warned of inflation early last year, his view was outside the mainstream consensus. In retrospect, his prediction proved prescient: High inflation has come to be one of the defining issues — economic or otherwise — of the Biden presidency. Now, Summers is out with a WaPo op-ed warning that today's consensus view "that inflation will fall below 3 percent by the end of the year … is likely a repeat of last year's wishful thinking." Why? Labor costs and housing costs.

— Related reading: WaPo's Catherine Rampell argues that the American Rescue Plan had too much "extra flab" that contributed to inflation and made Build Back Better harder to pass because "the bill ultimately crowded out political support for much more important and fiscally responsible items on Biden's agenda, such as universal pre-K and efforts to fight climate change" — which is what Summers argued was the big danger early last year.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

TESTING THE CLYBURN-BIDEN RELATIONSHIP — When it comes to selecting a successor for Justice STEPHEN BREYER, Clyburn has made no secret that he wants Biden to select South Carolina native J. MICHELLE CHILDS. He's said as much in countless media appearances in recent days, amounting to what NYT's Annie Karni describes as "the kind of pressure campaign that longtime Biden aides say can sometimes backfire."

"Mr. Biden recoils at being lobbied through the television. And there is sensitivity among some of his allies and former aides that his selection must look like the president's own historic pick, not like a political chit he owes to Mr. Clyburn," she writes. Still, "Clyburn remains optimistic that Mr. Biden will choose Judge Childs and that he will have had a hand in the selection of a groundbreaking Supreme Court nominee."

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POLICY CORNER

WHAT PROGRESSIVES ARE READING (AND FUMING OVER) — The Biden administration is set to "maintain a pandemic-era order put in place under Trump that authorizes the rapid deportation of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border," CBS' Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports . "Since March 2020, the Trump and Biden administrations have expelled migrants over 1.5 million times without affording them the opportunity to request U.S. asylum, citing a series of CDC orders that argue the expulsions are needed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in border processing facilities."

CONGRESS

SANCTIONS BILL UPDATE — Although a bipartisan group of senators are close to an agreement on a sanctions bill targeting Russia, lawmakers Thursday "emerged from a classified briefing … with fresh doubts about whether a legislative response could come together in time to deter an invasion," our Andrew Desiderio reports. "Negotiators have settled on a plan that punishes Russia for the destabilizing actions it has already taken, including cyberattacks targeting Ukraine as well as false-flag operations to create a pretext for an invasion. A final agreement remains up in the air, however, amid some debate over the sanctions' scope and the amount of flexibility to give Biden."

SPECIAL PANDEMIC COMMISSION IN THE WORKS — "A broad and bipartisan group of senators is coalescing around legislation to create a high-level independent commission, modeled after the one that examined the Sept. 11 attacks, with broad powers to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and the response across the Trump and Biden administrations," NYT's Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

OVERNIGHT AT THE OLYMPICS — Via WSJ's Chao Deng and Ann Simmons: "Chinese leader XI JINPING and Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN met in Beijing in a summit just ahead of the Winter Games, showcasing a united front amid a tense standoff with the West over the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine."

MEDIAWATCH

CUOMO-ZUCKER CAGE MATCH — Slate's Noreen Malone with quite the take on JEFF ZUCKER's shock resignation from CNN and the belief it was connected to the CHRIS CUOMO firing: "[T]he whole scandal has the whiff of classic corporate ratfuckery, with a modern twist: All the feminist lessons of the past several years have been scooped up, melted down, and welded into a sharp, sharp shiv. The same worlds where abuse was likely to have been taken seriously and codified during the rise of Me Too — cloistered, rivalrous, impossibly competitive, liberal-leaning zones like television networks, academia, and Democratic politics — are now the worlds in which the accusations are most easily weaponized by power players seeking an advantage. Zucker may be the most recent example, but he's certainly not alone."

— Also: "Jeff Zucker's legacy is defined by his promotion of Donald Trump," by WaPo's media columnist Margaret Sullivan: For Zucker, there was "nothing nobler than TV ratings, which always were Zucker's guiding light, his be-all and end-all and, ultimately, his fatal flaw."

TV TONIGHT — PBS' "Washington Week": Peter Baker, Seung Min Kim, Manu Raju and Nancy Youssef.

SUNDAY SO FAR …

FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Martha MacCallum: Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) … Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) … Neil Young (U.K. media correspondent, not the singer). Panel: Juan Williams, Gillian Turner and Josh Holmes.

CBS "Face the Nation": Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) … retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster … Scott Gottlieb.

Gray TV "Full Court Press": Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) … Jon Decker.

MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Steve Schmidt … Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) … Alphonso David … Jazz Lewis … Clarence Jones.

ABC "This Week": Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Jonathan Karl, Mary Bruce, Susan Glasser and Jane Coaston.

CNN "Inside Politics": Leana Wen. Panel: Laura Barrón-López, Tamara Keith, Jeremy Diamond and Meridith McGraw.

NBC "Meet the Press": Panel: Al Cardenas, Helene Cooper, Jeh Johnson and Amy Walter.

DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE.

PLAYBOOKERS

Joe Biden turned to Mitch McConnell at the National Prayer Breakfast and said, "Thank you for being my friend," a (presumably) unintentional "Golden Girls" reference. (Which one's Rose? Blanche?)

Chuck Schumer incorrectly claimed that "until 1981 … the Supreme Court was all white men," apparently erasing Thurgood Marshall, who was sworn in as a justice in 1967. (Schumer later corrected the record and apologized.)

Monica Lewinsky wrote about the joy of Wordle for Vanity Fair.

Matt Lee, AP's longtime State Department reporter, had what C-SPAN called "a heated exchange" with State spokesman Ned Price over the administration's intelligence findings about Russia and Ukraine.

Todd Young called a reporter for Military.com and apologized after coldly dismissing her questions because her publication wasn't widely read in his home state (or so he thought).

Mark Zuckerberg's net worth dropped by $29 billion Thursday as Meta's stock fell 26%. Jeff Bezos gained $20 billion in personal valuation the same day.

Speaking of Bezos: His new superyacht is so large that an iconic Dutch bridge must be dismantled to allow it to pass through. In a similarly relatable problem, Bloomberg reports that "the enormity of the yacht's sails will make it unsafe to land a helicopter onboard, so Bezos has commissioned a support yacht equipped with a helipad to trail alongside."

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Sen. Bill Hagerty's (R-Tenn.) office is announcing several staff changes: Luke Pettit has joined as senior policy adviser from Senate Banking, Natalie McIntyre is moving up to legislative director, Clark Milner is adding the duties of senior adviser, Lucas Da Pieve is moving up to deputy legislative director, and Audrey Traynor is moving up to deputy press secretary and digital director.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Kate Childs Graham at the end of the month will leave the VP's office, where she's director of speechwriting, per NYT's Annie Karni.

TRANSITIONS — Nate Adams will be campaign manager for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) reelect. He most recently was a director at National Victory Action Fund, and is a Dan Sullivan alum. … Sondra Goldschein is now the first executive director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy. She previously spent 20 years at the ACLU, most recently as director of program and strategy and deputy director of the affiliate support and nationwide initiatives department. … Art Motta is now national director of policy and legislation at the League of United Latin American Citizens. He most recently was policy adviser for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). …

… Kaylie Hanson is now chief comms officer for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She previously was senior adviser to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). … Movement Voter Project is adding Causten Rodriguez-Wollerman as VP of programs, Elizabeth Gramling as VP of operations and COO, and Darrell Tucci as VP of development. … Kelsye Adams is now a program director at DC Vote. She most recently was executive director of Long Live Go Go.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Hunter Biden … Adrienne Arsht (8-0) … Fed Chair Jerome Powell … Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Michael Guest (R-Miss.) … former VP Dan Quayle … CNN's Shimon Prokupecz … POLITICO's Annie Rees … Nicolle Wallace (5-0) … L.A. Mayor/U.S. Ambassador to India nominee Eric Garcetti … John Czwartacki … Vox's Sean Illing … Matt McDonald … DOD's Ilan Goldenberg … Nissa Koerner … former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson … Robert Buckley … White House's Susanna Billings … John LaBombard … Shantanu Tata … Eli Woerpel … E&E's Mike Soraghan … Thad Inge of Van Scoyoc Associates … Blair Bender … CTV's Will Dugan … Jessica Byrd … Zachary Mitchiner of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson's (D-Texas) office (26) … Ashley (Huggins) Laryea … Seth Michaels of the Union of Concerned Scientists (43) … Dan Berger … Justin Meservie … Morgan Rako … Sara Himeles … Joe Thompson … Ann Liston … Taimoor Shah … retired Adm. Dennis Blair … Amelia Chassé Alcivar … Stan Settles of Sen. Bill Hagerty's (R-Tenn.) office … Jovanni Ortiz (3-0)

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