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| Presented By Facebook |
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| Axios Sneak Peek |
| By the Axios Politics team ·Mar 01, 2022 |
| Welcome back to Sneak. We're coming to you early as a State of the Union appetizer. 🚨Breaking: "Biden to say U.S. and NATO were "ready" for Putin's invasion of Ukraine" during speech. ⚡Situational awareness: Join Axios' Mike Allen and Margaret Talev tomorrow at 3:30pm ET for a virtual event highlighting key takeaways from the speech. Guests include Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Register here. Smart Brevity™ count: 979 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson. |
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| 1 big thing: GOP hit list |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| House Republicans who'd assume control of oversight committees should their party return to power next year are sketching out familiar targets: Hunter Biden, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the origins of the coronavirus, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. Why it matters: President Biden and the Democratic Party have been able to control the government narrative to a degree through their unified control of the White House and Congress. A GOP majority in even one chamber would trigger fresh scrutiny of the executive branch and upheaval in the legislative branch. - The shift in power also would occur in the run-up to the 2024 election, when Donald Trump is hinting at mounting another campaign for the presidency.
- Congressional oversight has the potential to fuel campaign opposition research.
Driving the news: Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have narrowed their key priorities down to a "big three," according to an aide with knowledge of the party's oversight plans. - Hunter Biden: The president's son would likely be called to testify about his past foreign business dealings, especially in relation to Ukraine, and it could escalate to a subpoena fight if he refuses to appear voluntarily, the aide said.
- Muriel Bowser: The panel would also seek testimony from the District's mayor about her plan to tackle rising crime in D.C., and to discuss the city's remaining coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates.
- COVID-19: More than two years after the pandemic began, oversight committees would be "aggressively probing" whether coronavirus was man-made, as well as scrutinizing U.S. funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Axios is told.
Keep reading. |
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| 2. Biden's police-reform balancing act |
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| President Biden discussed police reform during his visit to New York City last month. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images |
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| The president is looking for ways to distance himself from progressives over how to combat crime without abandoning his campaign pledges, Axios' Hans Nichols and Alexi McCammond have learned. Why it matters: Biden's challenge is convincing swing voters he understands their concerns about rising crime rates without alienating Democratic Party activists who blame law enforcement for violating civil rights. As a candidate, he vowed to fight for police reform. - The president's balancing act — which may be on full view during his State of the Union speech tonight — is testing the patience of some outside progressives. They want to see him move more forcefully to embrace police reform and fully re-engage his discussions with them.
- Polls show Americans have become increasingly worried about crime over the last several months.
- A growing share also says it wants more funding for police departments, according to work by Pew Research.
What they're saying: The Rev. Al Sharpton, who's long focused on civil and racial justice, said Biden should establish a commission on police reform that brings progressives and police back to the table. - "Now, they're going the other way and only meeting with police," he said. "Proper policing is where police and community are brought together."
Keep reading. |
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| 3. Charted: Wordy presidents |
 Data: UCSB; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama averaged some of the wordiest State of the Union addresses in recent history, according to data from UC Santa Barbara's The American Presidency Project. Why it matters: The famously verbose Biden could follow in their lengthy footsteps tonight, Axios' Stef Kight writes. His address to a Joint Session of Congress last year exceeded 8,000 words — more than any other spoken first joint address or State of the Union except for Clinton's 1995 speech. By the numbers: In addition to the wordiest spoken speech, Clinton also had the top two longest State of the Union addresses when measured by minutes, going back to at least President Johnson. - Clinton's longest — and last — was just under an hour and a half.
- Speeches by President Trump came in third and fourth for timed length.
Keep reading. |
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| A message from Facebook |
| Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations |
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| Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook — to give you more control over your information. Hear more from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation. |
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| 4. Worthy of your time |
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| Gym owner and Maryland gubernatorial candidate Kyle Sefcik addresses the Freedom Convoy USA 2022 rally today on the National Mall. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images |
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| 🏛️ After the Capitol physician lifted Congress' mask mandate, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) secured unanimous Senate passage of a resolution calling to fully reopen the Capitol to tours, reports Axios' Andrew Solender, who first wrote about the proposal. - "The mechanics of reopening these buildings will be up to Senate leadership, Senate sergeant at arms, Capitol Police and the Rules Committee, which Hagerty is a member of," Hagerty spokesperson Judd Deere said.
💨 Former NFL player Herschel Walker, the pick of both Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to take on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), is pulling out of an event with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. - Former Sen. David Perdue, who is running for governor, still plans to attend even after Greene spoke at a white nationalist rally, according to the outlet.
🔎 The Jan. 6 select committee announced another round of subpoenas for six people who, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) says, "all have knowledge related to ... strategies employed to potentially affect the outcome of the election." 📺 Members aren't allowed to bring guests to the State of the Union under COVID-19 regulations, but some Democrats are working around that restriction by having "virtual" guests who'll tune into the speech from their districts. - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, invited an apprentice coordinator for an engineering union in her district to highlight "the importance of investing in American workers."
🦠 At least four Democratic lawmakers will have to tune in virtually after testing positive for coronavirus, including Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus. |
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| 5. Pic du jour |
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| Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images |
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| Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) (left) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) held hands with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), dressed in the colors of her native country. - The lawmaker — the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress — delivered an emotional appeal for further U.S. support during a press conference preceding the State of the Union address.
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| A message from Facebook |
| Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations |
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| Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook — to give you more control over your information. Hear more from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation. |
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| 💭 Thanks for reading! We'll be back later with a post-speech Thought Bubble. Subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. |
 | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | |
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