🤫 Dems' mask fear

Plus: McConnell picks SCOTUS fights | Monday, March 21, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Mar 21, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. The hearings over confirming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court began. Smart Brevity™ count: 905 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Dems' mask fear Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   The chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm and some of the vulnerable members he's charged with re-electing are voicing support for a Republican-led mask mandate repeal bill. Why it matters: This would set up a potential showdown with the White House, which recently issued a one-month extension on the federal mask mandate for public transit and airplanes, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. The backing also illustrates how Democrats — especially those facing tough re-election fights — are trying to distance themselves from the pro-mask policies that defined their party for the past two years. "I'm completely over mask mandates," Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told Axios. "I don't think they make any sense anymore. I'm for whatever gets rid of mask mandates as quickly as possible." "I think you're safer on an airplane than you are in a restaurant or at the gym, so I don't know why we're wearing masks in the air." Some medical experts say masking on public transit still helps reduce community transmission, especially at international crossroads like airports, Axios' Erin Doherty reported. Driving the news: The Senate voted 57-40 last week to pass a resolution to nullify the Biden administration's public transit mask mandate after it was extended until April 18. Eight Democrats voted for the resolution, including Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) — some of the most vulnerable incumbents this midterm cycle. The others were Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), mostly centrists facing re-election in 2024. Keep reading.     2. McConnell picks his Supreme Court battles Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell met with Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 2. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images   For Mitch McConnell — a man who's fought for decades to remake the American courts — the battle to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is hardly a battle at all, writes Axios' Jonathan Swan. Why it matters: The way the Senate minority leader sees it, according to conversations with those familiar with his thinking, this is a low-stakes confirmation: Jackson would be one liberal justice replacing another liberal justice. Her confirmation won't upset the court's conservative control. McConnell knows that unless Jackson screws up royally under senatorial questioning beginning tomorrow — an unlikely prospect given how deftly she has historically handled dangerous hypotheticals — he doesn't have the votes to stop her. Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote in the 50-50 Senate. Allies of McConnell say the low stakes provide an opportunity to treat Jackson respectfully. He wants to use that as a contrast to what Republicans say was the "circus" atmosphere of the Democrats' efforts to block the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, amid sexual assault claims he denied. Asked for comment, a McConnell spokesman pointed Axios to his previous public comments about President Biden's nominee. Between the lines: Allies say McConnell is keenly aware of the potentially ugly spectacle of Republicans going rhetorically overboard in a futile mission to destroy what would be the first African American woman associate justice of the Supreme Court. Keep reading.     3. Charted: Quitting Congress Data: LegiStorm; Chart: Will Chase/Axios Offices for members of the House of Representatives had a higher rate of staff turnover last year than in decades, according to new data crunched by LegiStorm and reviewed by Axios' Stef Kight. Why it matters: After a pandemic, fraught election year and attack on the Capitol, there's evidence House offices are feeling some of the same kind of worker challenges as the private sector. By the numbers: Overall, Democrats had a harder time keeping staff than Republicans, according to LegiStorm. But staffs for former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and a fellow Republican, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), had the two highest turnover rates in the House last year. Between the lines: The metric used by LegiStorm to track turnover takes into account staff position salary levels — lending more weight to higher-paid roles like chief of staff than lower-paid assistants, for example. A "1" would mean an average of 100% of the staff in a House office departed at some point during a specific year. On average for 2021, House offices had to find replacements for roles that made up 28% of total staff salaries — up from 18% the year before, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The data excludes part-time staffers, interns and fellows.     A message from Facebook We're making investments in safety and security — and seeing results     Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Over the last several months, we've taken action on: 62 million pieces of explicit adult content. 51.7 million pieces of violent and graphic content. See how we're working to help you connect safely.     4. Worthy of your time Portraits of Thomas Jefferson are embroidered into the socks worn by Patrick Jackson, husband of Ketanji Brown Jackson. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images   🐘 The Republican National Committee is trying to capitalize on rising gas prices, and the anger it's triggered toward the Biden administration, by launching voter registration drives at gas stations in Arizona, North Carolina and other battleground states, Andrew also reports. 🏛️ The late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), dean of the House and its longest-serving Republican member, will lie in state in the Capitol's Statuary Hall on March 29, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced. Young died Friday while en route to his district. 🇷🇺 House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation to prohibit federal contracts from going to companies currently operating in Russia. 📊 A super PAC supporting Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) warned donors that Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is leading Lamb by 30 points in the U.S. Senate race, arguing that voters aren't aware of Fetterman's progressive stances, according to Politico. ⚖️ Jackson vowed to "work productively to support and defend the Constitution and the grand experiment of American democracy" during the opening remarks on the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.     5. Pic du jour Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/AFP via Getty Images   Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was the focus of attention for official Washington — and those who chronicle its happenings.     A message from Facebook Privacy Checkup helps you stay informed and empowered on Facebook     We want privacy to be as easy as possible for you. That's why we built the Privacy Checkup, so you can: Strengthen your account security. Learn about your privacy settings and how your information is used. Control who sees what you post. Learn more about our safety efforts.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight! 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