🤫 McConnell's dodge

Plus: China's Olympic campaign | Thursday, April 07, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By American Bankers Association   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team · Apr 07, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. The Supreme Court gained a historic member. ⚡Situational awareness: "Finland's NATO application could be imminent," Axios' Zachary Basu writes in tonight's edition of Axios World. Smart Brevity™ count: 888 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Biden's first — and last? — justice Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signals "success" after Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images   Ketanji Brown Jackson is not only the first Supreme Court justice confirmed under Joe Biden's presidency — but, perhaps, also his last, based on comments Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made today to Axios' Jonathan Swan. Why it matters: During an Axios News Shapers interview, McConnell declined repeatedly to say whether he could commit to holding hearings on any Supreme Court nominee by President Biden if Republicans regain the Senate majority in November and a seat opens in 2023. "I choose not to answer the question," McConnell finally said, after repeated pressing. Between the lines: 2023 is not an election year, and therefore doesn't fit under McConnell's "Merrick Garland" rule. He used that construct to block President Obama's 2016 nomination of Garland by refusing to hold hearings for Supreme Court nominees during an election year in which the opposing party controls the Senate. What McConnell appears to be at least contemplating — refusing hearings no matter the stage of a presidency — is without precedent in recent American history. Asked whether he's developing an argument for not holding hearings if it isn't an election year ... McConnell declined to answer. If a Majority Leader McConnell does this, it would create a new paradigm: No Supreme Court justice can be allowed a confirmation process — let alone be confirmed — when the opposition party controls the Senate. The result would be a Supreme Court with an even number of justices. And that would create the possibility of a deadlock on any number of issues, such as affirmative action, voting rights and religious liberty — for years. The bottom line: Swan says, "I've done some difficult interviews over the past few years, including President Trump in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. But McConnell might be the most challenging subject in American politics. "The Senate minority leader's usual tactic in interviews is to simply refuse to answer questions he doesn't like. He did this repeatedly Thursday. But unlike every other politician I've interviewed, McConnell remains utterly disciplined and refuses to answer, no matter from how many different angles one comes at him." Keep reading. 📺 Go deeper: Watch the whole 30-minute interview via this link. 🧱 Plus: "Dems seek to preempt McConnell SCOTUS blockade," Axios' Andrew Solender wrote tonight.     2. Inside China's Olympic influencer campaign Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The Chinese government financed a $300,000 social media influencer campaign that reached millions of Americans — featuring a U.S. Paralympic athlete and a "Real Housewives" reality TV star — to promote this year's Beijing Olympics, new records reviewed by Axios' Lachlan Markay show. Why it matters: Beijing's efforts to influence U.S. public opinion are under scrutiny over concerns about propaganda and misinformation. The payments were disclosed via Foreign Agents Registration Act filings and influencer posts were marked as ads. Still, social media users are frequently unaware of the sources of funds for that sort of sponsored content. The Olympic marketing campaign came amid widespread diplomatic boycotts of the Games over China's repression of religious and ethnic minorities. The Biden administration has formally dubbed treatment of Chinese Uyghurs a genocide. Details: The American consultant behind the marketing campaign, Vipp Jaswal, insists his work was designed to unify in spite of political rancor. "I'm a patriot. I've done a lot of work for the United States National Guard," Jaswal told Axios in an interview Wednesday. "I would never do anything to jeopardize my fellow citizens and patriots." Keep reading.     3. Charted: How Americans view Russia Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios More Americans view Russia as an enemy following its invasion of Ukraine, a new Pew Research survey reviewed by Axios' Sarah Mucha found. Why it matters: The issue is one of a few topics in which Democrats and Republicans find common ground. 72% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans agreed that Russia is an enemy of the United States. Driving the news: 70% of all U.S. respondents now consider Russia to be an enemy, compared to 41% in January. The portion of Americans who view Russia as a competitor, in turn, dropped by about half. 49% said Russia was a competitor in January, compared to 24% in March. Keep reading.     A message from American Bankers Association America's banks want everyone to benefit from a bank account     The banking system works best when everyone has access. Today the number of unbanked adults is at its lowest level ever, and the Bank On movement is helping reduce it further. Banks of all sizes now offer low-cost, easy-access Bank On certified accounts at more than 36,000 branches. Learn more.     4. Worthy of your time Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus celebrate Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images   🏛️ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's positive COVID-19 test sparked controversy about whether President Biden was considered a close contact, Sarah also writes in tonight's Sneak roundup. 🖊️ Vice President Kamala Harris gave an assignment to the Senate's two Black Democrats as she presided over Jackson's confirmation vote: write a letter to a young Black woman in your life, Axios' Sophia Cai reported. 📁 There was a meeting this week to debate what would happen if half of the members of Congress died, among other scenarios. The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is working on contingency plans in case of a disaster. 🇷🇺 The Senate voted 100-0 to end normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, following weeks of gridlock. "No nation whose military is committing war crimes deserves free trade status with the United States," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. 🇵🇱 Polish President Andrzej Duda was asked by CNN's Dana Bash if he agrees with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia is committing genocide. "It is hard to deny this, of course," he said.     5. Pic du jour Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   President Biden and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watched together in the Roosevelt Room as the Senate confirmed her to be the first Black woman justice on the Supreme Court.     A message from American Bankers Association America's banks want everyone to benefit from a bank account     The banking system works best when everyone has access. Today the number of unbanked adults is at its lowest level ever, and the Bank On movement is helping reduce it further. Banks of all sizes now offer low-cost, easy-access Bank On certified accounts at more than 36,000 branches. Learn more.   🥂 Thanks for reading this week! We'll be back Sunday evening. 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®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: