🤫 Scoop: Schumer/Manchin tête-à-tête

Plus: Zelensky's speech plan | Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Climate Power   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Mar 15, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. 🚨Breaking: "RNC sues Salesforce to block Jan. 6 committee data dump," Axios' Lachlan Markay scooped tonight. ⚡Situational awareness: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff has tested positive for COVID-19. The vice president has not — so far. 🔮 Join Axios virtually at our inaugural What's Next Summit on April 5. Register here to attend livestream sessions with discussions on trends that will revolutionize our future.   Smart Brevity™ count: 918 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Scoop — Schumer and Manchin's secret Italian dinner Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   A private Italian dinner between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) did little to repair their differences over how Democrats can retain power in the Senate, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned. Why it matters: Schumer's failure last month to convince Manchin to be more of a team player has implications for the leader's ability to advance President Biden's agenda, not to mention the fate of his nominees — as Fed hopeful Sarah Bloom Raskin discovered this week. The two longtime friends, who use frank and colorful language with each other, successfully reset their strained relationship, Axios is told. But their political dynamic remained unchanged. Manchin is unwilling to forsake voter concerns at home in West Virginia for the good of the national Democratic Party. Details: Inside the Trattoria Alberto, an Italian institution in a once unfashionable part of Capitol Hill, Schumer tried to persuade Manchin to stop slowing down their party's agenda in the Senate. Manchin responded by telling Schumer he needed to be more persuasive, and that the burden was on the majority leader to allow the process to play out — and bring the entire Democratic caucus along. The two senators dined alone and without staff. The mid-February dinner was on the books before Axios reported the failed Build Back Better negotiations had left their relationship frayed. What they're saying: "Sen. Manchin and Sen. Schumer had a friendly and productive conversation over a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatballs," said Sam Runyon, Manchin's communications director. A spokesman for Schumer declined comment. Keep reading.     2. Zelensky speech to push U.S. red lines Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky virtually addresses the Canadian Parliament today. Photo: Adrian Wyld/Pool/AFP via Getty Images   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Canadian lawmakers today to envision waking at 4am to bombs dropping on Ottawa's airport or Toronto's CN Tower. "Justin, can you imagine?" he bluntly asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Why it matters: Zelensky's virtual address to Congress tomorrow is expected to build on this signature blend of praising, chastising and pleading with his audience to understand the global stakes of Ukraine's resistance, Axios' Zachary Basu reports. So far, he's succeeded in securing rapid new commitments virtually every time he's addressed Western lawmakers and leaders. Many of those commitments — such as SWIFT and oil sanctions against Russia — had been viewed as inconceivable just days earlier. "I apologize for being sometimes too blunt, but this is our life, and it is thanks to such character traits of our people that we stand firm against the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation," Zelensky told the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force earlier today. Zoom in: Zelensky's speech to the leaders of the U.K., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden illuminated the policy priorities remaining on his wishlist. They include an embargo on all trade with Russia, a ban on Russian ships accessing the world's ports, a "complete disconnection" of all Russian banks from the SWIFT banking network and recognition of Russia as a "terrorist state." Keep reading. Go deeper: Biden plans to announce another $1 billion in Ukrainian aid tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reported tonight. (subscription)     3. Charted: Gender imbalance Data: National Conference of State Legislatures; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios Democrats claim roughly twice as many female state legislators as their Republican counterparts, but the GOP has a significant advantage in local lawmaking: It maintains control of more state legislatures across the country, Axios' Alexi McCammond writes. Why it matters: From abortion rights to child care provisions, there's been heightened attention to the gender impact of legislation emanating from statehouses. It's likely to drive voter turnout in this year's crucial midterms By the numbers: Besides their raw overall numbers, Democrats have more women in leadership positions in the states: 55 vs. 20 for the Republicans. And Democrats have more state chambers with majority-women caucuses. There are 40 chambers where at least half of elected Democrats are women. By contrast, there's one chamber in the country where the majority of elected Republicans are women. Republicans have control of 30 state legislatures to Democrats' 17. (There are two divided chambers.) The big picture: Both parties have long-term plans for investing in state legislative races, with an eye toward affecting the 2024 presidential election. Keep reading.     A message from Climate Power We can't drill our way to real energy independence     We can't drill our way to real energy independence. We must accelerate the production of cheaper, cleaner energy — like wind, solar and electric vehicles — that isn't impacted by conflicts overseas and will lower costs for consumers and businesses. Congress, it's time to act.     4. Worthy of your time A forecasted high temperature of 68 degrees helped lure joggers to the Reflecting Pool at sunrise today. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images   🇷🇺 White House press secretary Jen Psaki quipped at her press briefing that Russia, in sanctioning "Joseph Robinette Biden," may have got the wrong guy — noting the president's full name is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. "They may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace," Axios' Andrew Solender reports. 💵 The president signed a $1.5 trillion omnibus budget bill to keep the government funded through September, after Congress spent half a year passing stopgap spending bills to temporarily avert government shutdowns. 🦠 The White House is raising alarm bells about the consequences if Congress fails to pass emergency coronavirus funding, warning in a fact sheet it would hamper access to vaccines, boosters, testing and treatments. 🚚 A trucker convoy is continuing to disrupt D.C., with congressional staffers receiving an alert from Capitol Police today warning of "significant traffic delays" and rolling street closures, and urging staff to adjust their commutes accordingly. 😷 The Senate voted 57-40 to pass a resolution to end the mask requirement on public transportation, with eight Democrats mostly in swing states voting in favor of it even as the president threatened a veto it if it passes the House.     5. Pic du jour Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images   Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with current and former members of the U.S. women's national soccer team during an Equal Pay Day event. The date symbolizes how far into a new year women must work to earn the same that men were paid during the previous year.     A message from Climate Power We can't drill our way to real energy independence     We can't drill our way to real energy independence. We must accelerate the production of cheaper, cleaner energy — like wind, solar and electric vehicles — that isn't impacted by conflicts overseas and will lower costs for consumers and businesses. Congress, it's time to act.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight! 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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