🤫 Scoop — Biden’s border battle

Plus: POTUS travel plans | Thursday, April 21, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team · Apr 21, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. 🔋 Join Axios' Mike Allen and Ben Geman tomorrow at 12:30pm ET for a virtual event examining the top priorities on the U.S. climate agenda and progress toward net-zero and clean energy goals. Guests include White House national climate advisor Gina McCarthy and Center for Climate and Energy Solutions president Nat Keohane. Register here. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,198 words ... 4.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Scoop — Biden's internal border battle Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke earlier this week in Panama City, Panama. Photo: Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images   Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has privately told members of Congress he's concerned with the Biden administration's handling of its plans to lift Title 42 on May 23, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios' Alayna Treene. Why it matters: The private airings by Mayorkas, recounted by lawmakers, belie his public posturing that the administration is prepared for a potential influx of migrants. The secretary is not only charged with protecting the border but overseeing the process of ending the Trump-era immigration control. Mayorkas has also indicated a level of frustration and unease with the repeal rollout, the sources said. DHS spokesperson Marsha Espinosa told Axios: "As Secretary Mayorkas has said repeatedly, Title 42 is a public health authority — not an immigration authority — and he defers to the public health experts at the CDC for any decisions related to it." "As he has also repeatedly said, we anticipate an increase in migrant encounters after the lifting of Title 42, and he is leading a whole-of-government response to apprehend, process and remove from the country those who are not eligible for relief," she said. A White House official told Axios: "DHS has a plan and we're working to implement it, and we will continue to work with Congress to implement the lifting of Title 42 in an as orderly and humane way as possible." What we're hearing: During a conversation with one senator a few weeks ago, Mayorkas communicated he was frustrated with the way the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its plans to end the program. The CDC's Title 42 order — first issued in March 2020 — uses the COVID-19 pandemic as justification for turning back migrants without the chance to seek asylum. Mayorkas, the first Latino and immigrant confirmed to serve as DHS secretary, shared his wariness regarding the expected influx of migrants once the ban is lifted, one source familiar with that discussion told Axios. In separate conversations with other members earlier this month, he conceded there are significant challenges with lifting Title 42. Mayorkas also acknowledged his own concerns about the expected surge in migrants, two other sources familiar with the talks said. In some instances, the secretary pointed members to the CDC, and said the public health agency is calling the shots. Members and their staff told Axios that, after Mayorkas walked them through the DHS' preparations for the potential border surge, they did not feel the administration had reached the level of preparedness needed to carry out the operation successfully by May 23. Some of these private conversations took place before multiple House and Senate lawmakers began publicly criticizing the administration's decision to repeal the border restrictions, and openly urged it to delay the repeal. The big picture: President Biden's inner circle has begun discussing delaying the repeal of Title 42, Axios first reported this week. Keep reading.     2. Biden to visit South Korea and Japan President Biden deplanes from Air Force One today after arriving in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images   President Biden is finalizing plans to visit South Korea and then Japan in late May, letting him show support for two crucial allies amid increasingly hostile behavior from North Korea, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned. Why it matters: The trip is a reminder the Biden administration — and the world — face security threats beyond Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also shows how the president is returning to a more robust travel schedule as the White House eases many of its pandemic protocols. North Korea has conducted more than dozen weapons tests this year, including last month's test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. By visiting South Korea shortly after a new pro-alliance president is inaugurated, Biden is signaling his support for the new government — and its more confrontational approach to North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. The Japan portion of the trip, which has been scheduled longer, will allow Biden to reaffirm the importance of Japan on a range of global issues and highlight the strength the trilateral alliance. What they're saying: The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the travel plans or reasons behind them. Between the lines: The president promised to ramp up his travel earlier this year and has visited both Iowa and New Hampshire during the past two weeks. He traveled today to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle to promote the bipartisan infrastructure law. He also was hosting the first two on-the-road fundraisers of his presidency while in the Pacific Northwest. Keep reading.     3. By the numbers: Candidate's cash Data: FEC; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios A number of 2022 Senate candidates — mostly Republican — are pouring millions of their own dollars into their primary campaigns. Why it matters: While many might be the top source of cash for their race, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll emerge victorious, writes Axios' Sarah Mucha. Some have been out-raised by potential Democratic rivals thus far in the primary process. Zoom in: In Ohio's Senate race, candidates have loaned over $30 million to their campaigns, according to a review of FEC campaign reports due March 31. Two of the country's top-funded super PACS also are lending their support to two of the Ohio candidates. The combination is making the state's Senate primary among the most expensive in the 2022 cycle. Thought bubble: "Ohio's Republican field is dominated by millionaires who have leaned heavily on personal wealth and connections to stay competitive in a very crowded, expensive contest," writes Axios Columbus author Tyler Buchanan. "Instead of relying on grassroots support, self-funding has kept them on the airwaves and boosted their name IDs — highly necessary in a seven-way race that may be won with as little as one-third of the vote." The Ohio primary is in 12 days. ✍️ Go Local: Sign up for Axios' growing stable of Local newsletters through this link.     A message from Facebook Facebook has invested $16 billion to keep you safe on our platform     Facebook invested $16B in safety and security over 6 years. The impact? Quadrupled safety and security teams. Developed industry-leading AI that detects harmful content and reacts as it evolves. Addressed millions of harmful posts and removed 1.7B fake accounts in the last few months. Learn what's next.     4. Worthy of your time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed Ukranian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to the Capitol. Photo: Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images   💨 Vice President Kamala Harris' chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, plans to depart the White House and is set to be replaced by longtime Democratic operative Lorraine Voles. She served as communications director to former Vice President Al Gore, according to the Washington Post. 🗣 The Congressional Hispanic Caucus' political action committee rebuked the House Majority PAC, aligned with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for only allocating 1% of planned TV and digital ad spending on Spanish-language ads, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. 📲 Former President Trump had his assistant text Club for Growth President David McIntosh "go f*** yourself" after the Club continued supporting Josh Mandel in Ohio's U.S. Senate race despite Trump's endorsement of rival candidate J.D. Vance, according to the New York Times' Maggie Haberman. ⚖️ The Supreme Court voted 8-1 to reject an effort by residents of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, to receive disability benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, was the lone dissenter. 🦠 Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, criticized a federal judge for striking down the Biden administration's public transit mask mandate. He argued in a CNN+ interview, "This is a CDC issue, should not have been a court issue."     5. Pic du jour Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images   Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addressed reporters during the 2022 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington. Her venue was the Treasury Department's Cash Room, originally designed as a roofed version of an Italian palazzo.     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 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: