🤫 Scoop - India roadblock

Plus: Visas for propagandists | Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Mar 23, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. 🎂 🎉 Happy 1st birthday to Axios Latino! Sign up here for the twice-weekly newsletter, and join the team on Twitter Spaces on Friday for a conversation about the political allegiances of U.S. Latinos. Join us at noon ET here. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,021 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Scoop - Garcetti's new India roadblock Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images   Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has placed a "hold" on Eric Garcetti's nomination to be ambassador to India, demanding details about how the Los Angeles mayor handled allegations of sexual harassment by his staff — and whether he's been honest explaining them to the Senate. Why it matters: India has tried to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, frustrating the White House. It's also a vital ally for the U.S. in its efforts to contain China. Yet more than a year into the Biden administration, the United States has no ambassador to the world's largest democracy, Axios' Hans Nichols writes. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) had placed his own hold on Garcetti's nomination, meaning Ernst's decision to join him erects another procedural — and political — roadblock for President Biden's pick. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can still force the nomination through, but only if he's willing to burn valuable floor time and endure a public debate about sexual harassment and a hostile workplace from one of the administration's most prominent ambassadorial nominees. Garcetti's nomination was advanced by the committee in January without any serious Republican opposition. What they're saying: "I want some clarity here. I want to know: Were there sexual harassment issues that came up in the workplace that were not addressed by Garcetti?" Ernst told Axios. "If that's true, that's really concerning." "That would be an issue for a lot of members," said Ernst, who has spoken about her own experience of being sexually assaulted. "We just passed the Violence Against Women Act." Ernst is also questioning the diplomatic qualifications of Garcetti to represent Biden in India. India has defied pressure from the Biden administration to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and it continues to buy Russian oil after the U.S. imposed its own import ban. "The president has confidence in Mayor Garcetti and believes he'll be an excellent representative in India," a White House official told Axios. Keep reading.     2. Propagandists plum "high-skilled" visa program Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Foreign propaganda organs — including those from Russia and China — have used a visa program designed to lure high-skilled workers to the U.S. to place reporters, editors and producers at their American outposts, records reviewed by Axios' Lachlan Markay show. Why it matters: The H-1B program is designed to bolster U.S. competitiveness by seeding American firms with educated workers from abroad. Government data shows it's also being used to boost foreign state media operations on U.S. soil. Attention on foreign influence is high amid Russia's disinformation campaign surrounding its invasion of Ukraine. Data shows Russian and Chinese state media have taken advantage of the H-1B program, as has a U.S. outlet as it worked with a state-funded Saudi broadcaster. By the numbers: China leads the way by a large margin, with H-1B visa approvals for state-run outlets such as CCTV, People's Daily, China Daily and Xinhua. A People's Daily H-1B application filed in 2020, shortly before its most recent approval, requested the visa for a "social media specialist." The outlet has worked with a Chinese security agency in recent years to scrape social media for information on "key personnel and organizations" in the U.S. and other countries, the Washington Post reported last year. Axios reached out to 10 of the Chinese media organs that have been approved for H-1B visas, as well as the Chinese embassy in Washington, but received just one response. Keep reading.     3. Charted: Sanctioning Russia Data: Castellum.AI; Table: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Europe's resistance to imposing sanctions on Russian energy has only hardened 28 days into the invasion of Ukraine, driving a wedge into a Western alliance initially hailed for acting with unprecedented speed and unity. Why it matters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with the West to impose new sanctions "every week until the Russian military machine stops," but the appetite for major sectoral restrictions appears to be withering, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. In one notable break, Japan, Canada and other nations have resisted a call to ban sanctions on export — or imports — of luxury goods to and from Russia. What to watch: Biden is expected to announce new sanctions on hundreds of Russian lawmakers after meeting with G7 and EU leaders in Brussels tomorrow. The allies will also work to close loopholes to enforce existing sanctions, but European officials say they don't expect a major new package designed to further choke off the Russian economy to be unveiled. Bloomberg reported today the U.S. and EU could finalize a deal during Biden's trip to guarantee supplies of American liquefied natural gas to Europe over the next two years. Keep reading.     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 It wasn't a one-off: Patrick Jackson followed up his Thomas Jefferson socks by sporting a pair embroidered with portraits of President John F. Kennedy while he attended the latest confirmation hearing for his wife, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images   🏛️ House officials announced the first two phases of a three-phase plan to reopen the Capitol to tours starting March 28, with the Botanic Gardens reopening on April 1, Axios' Andrew Solender writes in tonight's Sneak roundup. ✈️ Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was removed from a flight to the United Arab Emirates because his passport had been revoked, the Associated Press reported. 🐘 Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) vowed to continue his Senate run despite losing former President Trump's endorsement. He said in a statement Trump asked him to "rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, put President Trump back in the White House and hold a new special election." 🗳️ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she'll continue to support Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) even after the FBI raided his home, stating during a news conference in Texas, "I support my incumbents. I support every one of them, from right to left." 🇺🇦 The liberal super PAC American Bridge is running a print ad campaign in swing state media markets with large Ukrainian populations — Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — highlighting comments by prominent Republicans expressing indifference toward the Russian invasion, Axios' Alexi McCammond has learned. 📝 Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.) wrote to social media CEOs, in letters obtained by Axios' Sarah Mucha, urging them to crack down more on Russian disinformation. Their requests include removing Russian state media accounts and sending regular reports to Congress.     5. Pic du jour Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images   Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo greets President Biden as he arrives in Brussels for tomorrow's emergency NATO meeting about Ukraine.     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.   🐫 We've done it again; another Hump Day cleared! Please tell your family, friends and colleagues they can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. 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